A Hyrule Historian
by Morganasanguine
Summary: When Lazarie plays the mysteriously dangerous Eclipse Game and ends up in Hyrule, she's pretty sure it's a dream come true. You know, after she has a panic attack about it. But, with Hyrule's defenses completely obliterated by Calamity Ganon, their only hope at salvation lies lost through countless ages. Good thing the Goddess of Time plays favorites.[ A Modern Girl in Hyrule Fic]
1. The Eclipse Game

A Hyrule Historian

Chapter I

The Eclipse Game

Normally, I would consider myself a patient person. I think in order to be history major you have to be, and if I ever wanted to become an archaeologist it was a necessity. You cant be impatient when dealing with ancient artifacts after all, not unless you want to break a potentially sacred relic from a century long past, lost forever, that is. Unfortunately, I think it is basically impossible to be patient while looking at a countdown clock. Glancing back at the countdown to the totality of the eclipse on my phone and seeing that there was still more than 3 minutes until it began, I huffed and switched apps over to Reddit.

I might as well look over the rules, again. Hopefully it'll waste some of the 3 minutes and 35… 34… 33… 32 seconds that I still have until I can officially begin. Quickly scrolling up to the top of the thread I begin to read it for the umpteenth time in the week since it popped up on r/nosleep and subsequently r/threekings.

**Have You Ever Heard of The Eclipse Game?**

It was a simple enough ritual game with the function of "going to another dimension," though it is woefully vague as to what kind of dimension you are supposed to be going to. It does talk about this being a way to better yourself though so I'm vaguely sure it's not gonna be like the Lightless City or anything. The nerves of playing something potentially dangerous beat at my chest again, but was quickly replaced with embarrassment over getting so worked up about something that isn't gonna work. I may be a witch but even I don't think something like this would work. Physically traveling to a different dimension is just a fantasy. I felt reassured at the logic behind that thought and with reinforced nerves I turned back to my phone.

Scrolling past the normal disclaimer of Do Not Play This Game, I checked off the requirements in my head again.

**Participants**

One Principal

**Requirements**

A Windowless, or Completely Blacked Out Room

Sheets (Enough to cover any mirror in the room and push into the crack of the door)

A Single Candle and Matches

A Glass Half Full of Water

A Weapon (A kitchen knife or hammer will do)

An Item that Symbolizes an Obsession

An Eclipse

The bathroom in the dorm I was staying at was in the middle of the building so thankfully no windows needed to be covered. Check.

I already covered the mirrors with two bed sheets and another was balled up next to the inside of the door ready to be shoved into the crack to prevent any outside light from getting in. Check.

The candle, matchbox, glass of water, and kitchen knife were already set up in the middle of the floor as the helpful little diagram provided had shown. Check.

I strengthened my grip on the Clay Ocarina of Time replica in my left hand. Check.

I looked across the hall into the open doorway of the bathroom ahead of me, before scrolling down and re-reading the warnings at the end of the Before You Play section.

You must be completely set up and have exited the room before the beginning of the solar eclipse.

If anyone enters the room besides you, Do Not Proceed.

If the door to the room is closed, remember you left it open, Do Not Proceed.

If any of the items are missing or moved, Do Not Proceed.

Do Not Enter the room again after setting up and before the totality of the solar eclipse.

Once the totality begins do not let go of your Obsession for any reason, it is your safety net and guide home if you become lost.

If anything goes wrong in the set up stage, Do Not Proceed and Do Not Enter that room until the solar eclipse is over.

My heart beat just a little bit faster. Nothing had gone wrong in the set up and I have been staring at the doorway for the handful of hours since the eclipse began. I was ready. I was really doing this. I feel like I might throw up but also I don't have time for that.

I switched back over to the countdown.

56 seconds.

I can do this.

Just remember the first steps of the game, you're only gonna have 3 minutes and 33 seconds to do the first steps. You have to finish the first part within the totality and the solar eclipse website said that it's only going to last 3 minutes and 33 seconds.

47 seconds.

Step 1. Once the Totality begins, enter the room, close the door, and block out all light coming from the crack underneath.

39 seconds.

Step 2. Sit on the floor with your back to the door, the items you set up earlier should be in front of you.

33 seconds.

Step 3. Use the matches to light the candle; you must do this in complete darkness.

27 seconds.

Step 4. Pick up your weapon in your right hand, remember you Obsession is in your left and you cannot let go of your Obsession, and gently tap it against the glass of water three times.

15 seconds.

Step 5. Say aloud, "My Sun guide me. My Moon shield me. My Life and Sight align. I pledge the Past. I beg the Future. May Time reveal truth."

10 seconds.

Step 6. Gently tap the glass 3 more times.

5 seconds.

Step 7. Wait and Listen.

3…

2…

1.

I take a deep breath as I put my phone in the small star shaped purse at my waist. With anxious, jerky steps I walk through the doorway of the bathroom. No time to second guess myself any more I quickly close the door behind me, fall to my knees, and with shaking hands push the sheet up against the bottom of the door, enshrouding myself in total darkness.

I carefully turn around, sliding in a circle on my knees, I place myself in front of where I believe my little makeshift altar is located. Unable to see it in the dark and in fear of knocking something over, I gently pat the ground searching for the matchbox. There is a panic inducing second where I fear that something has gone wrong before I feel my fingers brush the top of the box. Carefully, bringing it over to my lap I slide the case open and extract a match.

Shit! How am I supposed to light this match and not let go of my "Obsession?"

Panic seeps into my bones as I quickly try and figure out a solution. Suddenly, I get the idea to hold the box, striking side up, between my knees. I rush to get everything in place and, hoping that I don't set my loose cotton pants on fire, I strike the match.

The small light in total darkness is both brighter and more comforting that I thought it would be. Able to see again, I locate the candle, one of those big jar candles from Yankee, and light the wick. It takes longer than I would have hoped due to the tremor in my arms.

Shit, how long has it been?

I franticly wave the match around to extinguish it once the wick catches fire.

That got a little too close to my fingers for comfort.

I try to steady my hand with mixed results as I pick up the kitchen knife with my right hand. It takes a few false starts before I can comfortably tap the glass with the knife and not fear breaking it.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

Taking a deep breath I begin the chant, "My Sun-" I startle myself, my voice louder to my ears than I had expected it to be, but I had to continue, "-guide me. My Moon shield me. My Life and Sight align. I pledge the Past. I beg the Future. May Time reveal truth." I finish shakily, panicking that I've forgot a word or phrase.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

I tap the glass again, and now the moment of truth.

I wait. I listen. And, just when dread starts creeping up my spine. I hear it.

Three short knocks upon the door behind me.

I scramble to pull my phone out of my purse and get back to the recipe for the ritual. Scrolling down I look for what to do next.

Step 8. There will come 3 knocks on the door.

If you hear them? Wait.

If you don't hear them. Do Not Proceed. Tap the glass 3 more times and blow out the candle. Leave the room. Do not enter the room again until the solar eclipse has completely ended.

Okay, okay. I must have done it right then? Yeah, what's next?

Step 9. Do Not turn to face the door. Listen carefully for noises from the door. If you hear:

Someone speak. Do Not Proceed. Blow out the candle and sit in the dark and wait until you hear Them walk away. Do Not Respond. Do Not make any noise. Sit and pray they leave you alone. Do not let them trick you into opening the door. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR.

The door open. Do Not Proceed. Blow out the candle and quickly turn to face the door. Ready your weapon to strike. You will have to fight Them in the dark. You do not want to see their face. Do not try to fight with the candle lit. I'm so sorry. Try to fight them off the best you can. I'm so very sorry.

A deadbolt lock into place. You may proceed to step 10.

I am so frantic in reading the instructions that I almost miss it. The quiet sound of a deadbolt locking behind me.

My heart flutters. This is the bathroom in my dorm. It doesn't have a deadbolt, only a small twist lock on the handle.

The reality of the situation hits me suddenly. This may be more real than I originally thought.

God, what am I doing?

I look down to my phone for the next step.

Step 10. Put your weapon down next to the candle and pour the glass of water over the flame, emptying all of its contents. In the dark, stand up and open the door. If it:

Does not open. I'm so so sorry.

Opens to the same hallway you came from. Do Not Proceed. Close the door and wait for the solar eclipse to pass. Once it does you may leave the room and hope nothing has found it's way through your door.

If you see somewhere else entirely. Somewhere that shouldn't be. Proceed to step 11.

I was trembling so hard I nearly missed the candle entirely as I poured the water over it. Locking my phone so the light turned off, I stood and turned towards the door. Shakily, I grasp the handle, glad for once that it is a lever instead of a knob, if only because it meant that I could keep my phone in my right and open the door at the same time. After all, I can't use my left. Do not let go of your Obsession, and all that good stuff.

Here goes nothing I guess.

I hold my breath as I push down on the handle, a small sense of relief washing over me when it gives and the door unlatches from the frame just a tiny bit.

Well, at least I won't be stuck in this room. Maybe I just imagined those sounds? Maybe on the other side of this door is just my dorm and nothing bad is gonna happen?

The sense of dread creeping up my spine makes my thoughts ring hollow. I know there is only one thing to do at this point. I slowly pull the door open, my eyes squeezing shut as every muscle in my body pulls taught.

A cool breeze hits my face, on it the scent of grass, wildflowers, and hay. I can feel the panic send my limbs trembling. It's everything I can do not to collapse where I stand. This isn't the feeling of my AC unit doing it's best to combat the late summer heat. Nor is it the breeze of a small desert wind, tricking you into hoping for relief when all it will really do is steal any moisture from your skin it can touch. I had become so accustomed to those over these past 2 years at college that I almost forgot what a countryside smelled like. This almost felt like back home in Colmar.

Hesitantly, I opened my eyes. In front of me was a sprawling, moonlit field. Lush green grass over rolling hills foretold of somewhere far from the Arizona desert I had just come from. The breeze bounced my short curls to and fro, making them tickle my cheekbones where they rested. Hills turned into mountains, but in the cool darkness of night it was difficult to see past that. The sounds of crickets and nocturnal birds slowly drowning out as the ringing in my ears grew louder and all encompassing. I try to force the panic out of my mind but I can feel the tell tale dizziness of a panic induced faint coming on.

Sucks to suck, I'm too familiar with fainting for it to happen.

I wobbly fall forwards to my knees into the tall grass in front of me. Bending over so my head was touching my knees I forced my breathing to slow and deepen. The grass gently brushed my over stimulated skin in a touch that was almost soothing but more so unnerving.

Too much to take in.

Why did I play this stupid game?

It took me an unfortunately long time to calm down enough that my ears weren't ringing anymore. It took me longer still to realize that the weight in my left hand was much heavier than it was before. With dawning dread I looked down to my little Ocarina of Time. The childhood birthday present I had to beg my parents for. The only constant friend in my life beside video games as I switched schools ten times before getting my GED and going off to College alone, and away from the instability of my parents.

But no longer was this the small painted clay ocarina. In my hand was a much larger ocarina, clearly made from some strange smooth blue stone. The golden band and engraved Triforce on it no longer painted, but clearly, visibly made of gold.

I could feel the panic bubble up again. I want to drop it, but…

Do Not let go of your Obsession.

Shit, the game! The rules! Right okay I'll just get up, go back to my bathroom, and read the next step. Right, it's going to be okay. All I have to do is follow the rules.

With a budding sense of hope unlock my phone as I stand, with minimal amounts of wobbling, and face the doorway to my bathroom.

Where's my bathroom?

I stare disbelieving at the field before me, behind me, and around me; but my bathroom was nowhere to be seen.

Oh god, it's gone! Panic flashed through my brain, overtaking any sense of reason. I spun in place; first clockwise, then counterclockwise, in hopes that may I was just missing it. Maybe I just got turned around and…I don't know lost sight of a random doorway that appeared out of nowhere in this field?

A small part of my brain was grateful that I seemed to be alone in this field, because I could faintly recognize that I was making a constant high pitched keening noise, similar to what might come out of a microwave or computer when you are doing something it doesn't enjoy.

Maybe, maybe this is just the next step? Yeah! Okay what did it say to do after the doorway appeared? Why can't I remember?

Quickly, franticly, nervously, I unlocked my phone again as it opened to the recipe where I had left off.

Step 11. Here is your last chance to abort the game, and I would heavily suggest you do so, for I cannot promise you will come back from this if you continue to play. So here you have 2 choices you can do:

If you want to quit the game and go home. Throw your Obsession away. (I know, I told you never to let go but that was to get to this point) You can sacrifice your Obsession and it will take your place in the new dimension. Hopefully, helping someone there who needs it. Proceed to step 12.

If you want to go to another dimension. Please don't do this. But, If you want to continue just take a step out of the room you were in and into the new Dimension. Proceed to step 13.

I found myself reading the words "last chance" and "cannot promise you will come back" again and again and again. But, no matter how many times I read them they wouldn't change. I read them until my vision became blurry from tears. I read them until my knees gave out and I crashed back to the ground. I finally stopped reading them one my phone went black from inactivity.

"What have I done?" I barely croaked out. My voice tired and cracked from crying. But, there was no response from the cool indifferent night around me.

Eventually, I ran out of tears. With nothing else to do I picked myself up off the ground and brushed off the various plants and dirt that had clung to the white fabric of my bifurcated skirt. The blades of grass the has snuck into the twist of my brown knitted cardigan having to be almost surgically removed with how stubborn they were.

Trying to gauge my surroundings better, I took a visual survey of the area. Definitely a field, but not one curated by people certainly. There were some sparse grouping of trees, maybe apple trees or dogwood, it is hard to tell in the dark. There was a large hill to the north of me, supposing that my internal compass was correct at the moment, that if I climbed up I could potentially have a much better view of the area. With no other idea or course of action to take I slowly pushed my post-panic attack slush of a body forward until I manages to crest the hill.

I was right in my thought. I did have a much better view of the valley that lay beyond the hill. The first thing I noticed was the large torch-lit tent-shaped building with a truly massive horse head seated atop of it. It seemed rather secure in the area surrounded by a large wooden fence. From atop the hill I could see the inside of the compound where several smaller building and a large oval horse track laid. I could feel my thoughts and heart racing at the mishmash of familiar features of the stable in front of me.

But if I thought that was a panic inducing sight than I was truly about to throw myself head long into the ocean of fear. For when, I lifted my eye just the slightest bit, more out of confusion than anything, I caught sight of a heart-stopping monument.

There, on the other side of the valley, was an unbelievably massive stone castle shrouded in darkness. Oily miasma dripped up into the sky only to be halted by a soft golden light dissipating anything that touches it. It created an almost lava lamp effect.

I looked back down to the ocarina in my left hand. There really wasn't much denying it now, too many facts adding up to one single truth. I'm in Hyrule. Holding the potentially incredibly powerful magic item in my hand just a little bit tighter, pressing it up against my chest hoping that it might keep it just a little bit safer.

In my awe I nearly missed it, the rattling of bones behind me.

_Notes: _

_Hello! Thanks for reading the first chapter of A Hyrule Historian! So I've always been a big fan of the modern girl in such and such fandom here stories, and have even written quite a few in the past._

_Now that I am older (and a slightly better writer) I really wanted to give this another go. Legend of Zelda has an incredible importance to my life and it was the obvious choice for the time and effort I would need to put in for this._

_So some things I want to mention real quick:_

_Yes, I know that I didn't really introduce the main character. Yes, I did it on purpose. Since this is from her point of view, and not say a 3__rd__ person or narrator, I just find it too unrealistic for her to go through exactly who she is and exactly what she looks like. People don't do that for themselves. I also think it is a lot more enjoyable to find out more about a person through the actual narrative, so don't worry, you will get info on her._

_I am very obsessed with Zelda Lore and Zelda Theories. That is a basic foundation for this story. This is really a way for me to explore the Zelda Universe in a creative way. But you should be warned. If you are looking for a by the book Zelda retelling that is not what I am doing._

_This isn't going to be according to the lore as seen in the Hyrule Historia or Hyrule Encyclopedia. (Though it might use some things or make reference to them.)_

_This is definitely not going to be follow the "Official Timeline" because I don't want to, and also Nintendo doesn't even follow it so why should I?_

_I will also be handling subjects surrounding mental health issues, because I have them and I refuse to write people who don't._

_Also feel free to ask any questions in the reviews. I will do my best to answer any serious questions in the notes of the next update if I can._

_Thanks again!_


	2. Home on the Range

A Hyrule Historian

Chapter II

Home on the Range

I debated turning around for only a second, knowing that I wasn't going to like what I saw. Unfortunately, if this is Hyrule than there is the very real fact that what I can't see can definitely hurt me. Forcing myself to spin around despite the dread was a harder feat than it should have been.

Okay could be worse, it's just a couple of Stalchildren. My panicked brain tried to reassure me that they were no big deal and could be taken down in 2 hits, but unfortunately that was a rather quiet sentiment when faced with the ungodly horrors that were in front of me. Because, no. No videogame in any of the Zelda series accurately portrayed how horrifying these things were. They clearly weren't human skeletons, that thought alone making me wonder if a Stalfos would be better or worse to look at, they had almost a muzzle shape to their cracked open jaws, and their hands and feet were much larger than any person would likely have. But worst of all, worse than the dull red glow of their eyeless stares, worse even than the horrible crunch and rattle of bones long dead grinding together, was the black spectral musculature that coated them and kept them together. It was dark but still transparent, doing nothing to hide the bones that made up this monster, but true to its purpose stretched and contracted with every sickening movement.

These nightmares of a field enemy were within arms reach before I fully got over the urge to barf. The closer of the two stretched its arm back to give it better leverage to slash at me, but thankfully the only instincts I ever had kicked in.

I punched it square in the jaw.

There was a sickening pop and crack as the head went rolling away from its body. Whatever magic kept this thing together went with the skull as the bones almost comically fell into a pile at my feet. But, with stomach turning horror, I watched as whatever magic this thing possessed, sluggishly dragged the pile of bones towards the skull a yard away.

No amount of horror movies or gory videogames could have prepared me to see this in real life. Even though every fiber of my being wanted to fight these thing, I knew I was only moments away from throwing up, and something told me they wouldn't be kind enough to give me a moment to compose myself. With no other option, I turned and ran towards the stable.

I stumble far too quickly down the hill causing me to lose my balance and pitch forward onto my hands and knees. The fast change in position and the awkward angle of my landing were the last straw for my poor stomach. I only had enough time to quickly move the Ocarina of Time to press against my chest to keep it safe.

Over the blood rushing in my ears and the sound of my dry heaving, I hear a loud yell, a battle cry to match any big blockbuster movie. I feel the wind brush past me as whoever this person is runs to meet the Stalchild head on. I couldn't tell what was going on behind me, having to put to much effort into turning my dry heaving to steadying deep breaths. I had almost gained control of myself when I felt a hand softly touch my back.

"Are you okay to run now? More will come soon if we don't get to the safety of the ranch." The person spoke gently but urgently, seemingly trying to make sure I knew the seriousness of the situation.

"Yeah. Okay." I huffed out, my throat too sore to really put the effort into speaking. Managing to only slightly stumble as I got to my feet, I managed to finally get a look at my savior.

A young woman, probably around my age, late teens early 20s, with long ginger hair and a whole galaxy of freckles across her face stared back at me. She was clutching a wooden post and it combined with the flush of exertion she was sporting gave her an almost wild look.

Oh no, she's hot, was the first thing that crossed my mind.

Oh right, run, quickly took its place.

It was hard to describe the noise that came from a Stalchild violently bursting from the ground behind us. Ocarina of Time always made a kind of ripping noise to signify it, but really it was more of an explosion, like a rock hitting a wall and just shattering straight into dust.

We made it to the bottom of the hill with the too fast rush of running on a downward slope, my legs barely keeping pace with the momentum of the rest of my body. I probably would have smashed straight into the 10 foot, solid, wood fence had my new best friend not grabbed me by the elbow and swung me to run along side it.

Lanterns were hung somewhere above our heads, and for a second I hoped that those would be enough to scare off our pursuers but if the rattle, crunch, stomp behind us was anything to go by, that was a hope wasted. Just when it started to feel like there wasn't actually going to be an entrance and we were going to be stuck running in a circle around this fence until the sun rose, large ornate pillars carved to look like horse heads with lanterns in their mouths came into view. With one last burst of speed, we managed to throw ourselves firmly inside the boundaries of the stable. With too much momentum and not enough stamina, I collapsed into a dive on the ground. The firm hand on my elbow never falters causing my savior to tumble to the dirt with me.

"I'm so sor – Thank –" I try to express literally any of the feelings swirling through my brain, but all that comes of is heavy panting and jumbled sentences.

"Glad to help." Came the sweet response, it sounded as if she would have been laughing if she hadn't been gasping for breath.

I'm not sure how long we laid there in the dirt, catching our breath. Eventually, breathing became easier and the adrenaline worked it way out of our systems. With this shallow sense of calm came the realization that neither of us had changed our positions since falling, meaning I was still face down cheek pressed into the dirt, and my incredibly pretty savior was laying half on top of me. The surreality of the situation wasn't lost on me. Unsure of how to process all of the events that had taken place today, I ended up settling on laughing. Laughing was better than crying, and hey, I was still alive.

This was a wild and fantastical situation, one that I am wholly unprepared for, but I could survive. This little scuffle proved it. Beside, I was made of tougher stuff than anyone would give me credit for. I've spent the better part of a decade managing an anxiety disorder, no two-bit dimension hopping mistake was gonna beat me.

It seemed my laughter was contagious, as my companion quickly started giggling as well. She must have realized she was pinning me down, because I felt her shift and push off the ground until she was resting on her back. I sluggishly turned over as well, hoping for a potentially more comfortable position.

I don't know what I expected. While laying on my back did make it easier to breath, I was still laying on the cold hard ground. I chanced a glance at my companion. Her eyes were closed as she merrily laughed towards the heavens. God, she's so pretty. Now that I wasn't in the middle of a panic attack, I noticed some more subtle details about her. Her incredibly cute little elf ears were pierced multiple times with cute little dangling gems. Her laugh was more of a giggle snort that honestly made her all the more endearing. But, the most interesting detail was probably the red hibiscus flower tucked neatly into the brim of her horrible ranch hat.

I really wish I could say that I was at all chill and came up with something witty to say. Unfortunately, all my stupid monkey brain could come up with was, Pretty Girl. Pretty Savior. Flower. Pretty. Yeah. I was not doing great.

I was saved from my useless loop of thoughts, however by the girl opening her eyes and turning her head to face me. The look on her face held more fondness than I expected, but no so small measure of concern.

"Are you alright?" She asked gently, words a flicker of movement in the suddenly too still night air.

"Um- yeah. Yeah, I think so. Thanks for coming to save me back there. That was pretty brave." I forced out, somehow fighting my way back through the stream of evolution to regain the ability form full sentences.

"Oh! It really wasn't anything special! I'm sure anyone would have come to your aid if they saw you. I'm just glad I could see you up on the hill from the corral." She chattered embarrassed by the praise while animatedly waving her hands above herself. At the mention of the corral she gestured vaguely over past our heads. Instead of spending the effort to sit up and look, I did the obvious choice of bending my neck at an uncomfortable angle against the ground to look up at it.

Sure enough, there was a large oval horse corral, with a dirt track running around the outside. Seeing the unmistakable sight of the Lon Lon Ranch pasture brought an intense sense of nostalgia over me. With no small sense of wonder, I turned my head to look at the buildings surrounding me. The sight that I was met with was more confusing than anything. The small part of me that hoped that I would see more of that familiar Lon Lon Ranch from my childhood, but as I had noticed atop the hill, there was two large tent like buildings, one of which was topped with the likeness of the Horse God.

What was his name? Starts with an M. It's not Malaria but it's close to that I think? Well, whatever. It doesn't matter right now anyway.

I turn my head back towards my savior, only to find her perched on her knees beside me.

"Well, I know it's not the ideal introductory scenario, but welcome to Lon Lon Ranch! You might know about us through our various stables across Hyrule. We are here to assist you in your travels in whatever way we can. My name is Ramona. What's yours?" Ramona grandly, but quietly enough to not wake the sleeping figures in the tent some 20 feet from us.

I figured it was probably high time to stop rolling around in the dirt and try to make myself presentable. Honestly though, that train has probably already left the station. While keeping my hair short definitely helped keep my curls a bit more under control, rolling my head around in the dirt has pretty much assured that I am going to have to rain hell down onto my own head later.

Shit, I just colored my hair today, I shouldn't was it or all the blue is just gonna fucking leave. God, and I finally go it to such a nice navy blue. Apparently, I was too distracted by that line of thought and Ramona started to get concerned.

"Hey, are you okay? Did you get hit by one of those things?" She asked gently moving to check me over for any wounds.

"Oh! No. No. I'm totally fine! No injuries, whatsoever. I've got way thicker skin than a little Stalchild could handle. That's for sure. So yep totally fine." I ramble nervously as I force myself up to my feet faster that I believed I was capable at this moment, "See? Fine." I force myself to stop talking, already mortified at how big of an idiot I must look to this very pretty, not-Malon.

Huh. Ramona. Not Malon. But the similarities between her and the designs for Marin and Malon are too striking to be coincidence. Also, she referred to this place as Lon Lon Ranch. Shit what does that mean?

Again, I had become to caught up in my own internal monologue that I partially missed her question.

"-your name?" She smiled gently.

"Name? Oh! My name! Hi. Yes, I'm Lazarie. Um, it is very nice to meet you Ramona, and thank you again for saving my skin back there." my too fast speech doesn't seem to bother her as she nods excitedly.

My attention is quickly grabbed by movement from behind Ramona. Dread sinks my heart into my stomach as I see 2 more Stalchildren loitering around the opening of the gate. It takes me a second to realize that while they are definitely watching us, they don't seem to be moving closer at all.

"Why…" I trailed off, stupor eating my question whole. Why are they waiting? Why aren't they coming in? I'm not really sure what to ask. Ramona thankfully seems to understand my question, even when I'm not fully sure of it myself.

"Oh, don't worry about them. They can't get in as long as we have the effigy of Malanya watching over us." she motions to the giant horse head residing over the ranch's main tent.

Malanya! I knew I was close!

"Once the sun rises and nullifies the spell, we can then burn the bones to exorcise the spirits and prevent them from coming back. But, that's enough about that. What about you? What are you doing out here in the middle of the night with no supplies or weapon? Did you lose them? Or were you with a group and got separated?" she asked visibly both concerned and curious. It was strange, having this girl I had just barely met fuss over me was a rather new situation for me. Having moved around so much during my childhood and teens had really made it so I couldn't keep up any meaningful friendships. That, coupled with the fact that my parents started relying on me to take care of myself from such a young age, as they were too busy trying to keep a roof over our head and food on the table, made it strange when anyone showed more than a passing concern for me. Maybe that just happens when you save someone's life. Heaven knows how many NPCs I have become emotionally attached to because I spent too much goddamned time rescuing them, I wasn't gonna waste that by not becoming their friend.

Oh, wait, crap. She was asking me a question. Um, why I was alone? Crap. Crap. Crap. What do I say? What did she say about losing my group? That's a safe bet. But, wont she want to help me find them? God! This is hard! Just say something!

"I'm from another world, and I performed a magical ritual, and now I'm here, and I didn't think it would work, so I didn't pack any supplies, and now I'm stuck here…" No! Not that! Why did you say that! Stupid. Now she's going to think you're insane, and never want to talk to you again. Or, maybe feed you to those Stalchildren still standing outside the entrance.

In my panic, I smacked the Ocarina of Time, which somehow I miraculously held onto throughout all of this, against my throat as I tried to run my hands over my neck to calm me down. I guess, the choking coughs that it resulted in did make me forget about the panic for a second.

Hey Hylia? If you can hear me right now, could you like… kill me? Save me from myself? That would be great. I was pretty wrapped up in my internal prostration that I was caught off guard when Ramona started her intensely endearing giggle snort.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh, but you're just so cute! Another world, huh? Well, that would explain these oddball clothes of yours! I thought they might be some kind of new Ordonian fashion. They don't seem too handy to travel in, and us being so far from Saria Town, it would be nothing short of a miracle for that thin of material to still be in one piece." She chuckled while motioning to my clothes, which yeah… white crop top, white pants, and cable knit cardigan maybe weren't the smartest adventuring gear. At least I had leather boots on? Does that get me a point in practicality?

Wait. Did she call me cute? Wait! Did she say Ordonian? Did she say Saria Town? What fucking game am I in?

I had to force the wheels in my brain to stop, because as confusing as the implications are right now, I do need to be present for this conversation.

"You believe me?" I asked quietly, worried that she might be joking about this. Should I want her to be joking? If she believes me, then I wouldn't have to worry about keeping up with a story. It's a nice thought, I guess.

"Of course, I do. Strange, unexplainable things happen all the time. I don't see how this would be that farfetched. Besides, I have a feeling I would've been able to tell if you were lying. You have a pretty expressive face." She assured me while reaching up and gently tapping my nose.

I could feel my cheeks warm up, with the simple motion. I finally noticed how much smaller she was than me, which, to be fair, wasn't hard. At just shy of 6 feet tall, I was taller than most people I've ever known. But, this girl had to be almost a foot shorter. I wouldn't really call her petite. Despite her sized she definitely looked the part of a hard working ranch hand. It did make me wonder how similar she looked to Malon. Or Marin. Both.

"Thanks." I try to put everything I'm feeling at the moment into that one word. I'm not sure if I really succeed, I'm too embarrassed to make eye contact at this point.

"Well then, Miss Lazarie, alien girl, why don't we go over to the water barrels and try to work out some of the dirt from our hair?" She offers, voice warm and gentle.

I might have nodded my head a bit too rigorously, certain that my, already nightmarish rats nest for hair, was flung around ridiculously.

Later that night, after we spent an unfortunate amount of time washing, then combing, then washing again. I had been loaned some clothes to sleep in, apparently the kept spares for the workers, and had been swiftly shuffled off to Ramona's bed, her not needing to use it while she worked the nightshift lookout duty and not wanting to get in trouble for letting someone use one of the rentable beds for free. Though, from the sounds of it, she wouldn't have gotten into much trouble if any, her father, Timon, being the owner of the entire Lon Lon Ranch enterprise. But, I wasn't going to complain, a free bed, that happened to smell like hibiscus due to the small bundle she kept next to it, was more than I could have asked her for.

Now, I was alone. Since she actually lived here she was in a separate tent from the main one. Once under the canopy, it actually appeared to be more of a house, with wooden walls and floors to luxuriate with. It also meant that I had an actual room to myself.

I looked over at my little star shaped purse, so very out of place on her wooden nightstand. I had finally caved and put the Ocarina of Time inside it out of necessity. I can't say my heart didn't stutter a bit in panic. "Do Not Let Go Of Your Obsession" playing on repeat in my head. It actually took a bit of effort to pry it out of my hand. Grip frozen from the stress and exertion of making sure I didn't drop it during any part of the night. Unfortunately, my phone had not been so lucky. I'm not exactly sure when I lost it, but it definitely didn't make it inside the ranch with me. I could always search for it tomorrow during the day, but that could wait.

Now, every question that I had put off thinking about was rapid banging around my brain. A percussive beat of questions I did not have an answer to. Frustrated I flopped onto my other side, hoping maybe that angle would bring the sleep I desperately craved. But, as seconds stretched to minutes, not only did sleep not come, but the niggling paranoia of not being able to see my purse, therefore not knowing if it had managed to disappear, join the already too loud cacophony of noise in my brain.

It wasn't long before I turned to face it again. Thankfully, and unsurprisingly, it was still on the nightstand where I left it.

Maybe I should check and make sure the ocarina is still there.

Knowing that my stupid anxiety brain wasn't going to stop unless I checked I lazily flopped my hand onto the nightstand to grab the strap of my purse and proceeded to pull it over onto the bed. Sure, enough, there was the Ocarina of Time, looking only slightly out of place perched on top of my everyday items. Reassured, I moved to place the purse back onto the nightstand, but paused.

Better check one more time. Just to be sure. I looked into the bag again. Yep, still there. Still a strange impossible looking blue stone. Still perched on top of my lipstick and wallet full of now useless cards.

Again, I moved to put it back, before sighing and just committing to cuddling it like it was a stuffed animal. It may not be as soft as Captain Crunch, but it did make me feel a bit safer knowing it was in my arms. I spent a moment lamenting the loss on my banana shaped alligator stuffed animal. Note to self, next time you play a ritual game make sure to pack the belongings you don't want to lose. Or maybe just don't ever play one again.

I take a deep breath to try and focus my thoughts. In cases like this, I would usually write a list so I could organize said thoughts, but without a notebook or my phone I would have to settle for a mental list.

1\. I magically transported myself into Hyrule.

That wasn't so bad was it? I mean, that's every fangirl's dream, and it's not like I hadn't spent my entire childhood pretending to be on an adventure with the Hero of Time. Speaking of…

2\. I was currently in possession of the Ocarina of Time.

Well, to be fair. I haven't tried to play it yet. So technically, it could be something different. That looks exactly like it. And is way to magical in appearance to be a normal item. And magically replaced my little clay one when I got here… Yeah it's probably safe to assume it's the Ocarina of Time.

3\. I have absolutely no clue what game I'm in.

This was really the root of my frustration, I think. Unfortunately, I have a lot of conflicting info at this point. The stables obviously make me think it's Breath of the Wild. The fact that this stable is Lon Lon Ranch pushes me towards Ocarina of Time. Then, Ramona mentioned both Ordonians and Saria Town, which belong to Twilight Princess and Adventure of Link respectively. On the subject of Ramona, that fact that she's here and not Malon kinda hints that this isn't Ocarina of Time…

That thought makes me a little sadder than I would like to admit. But honestly, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask were my first Zelda games. To this day they're still my favorite. I felt a bittersweet pang of nostalgia. I was so little when my cousin, François, gave me his N64 because my parents could barely afford a TV let alone a videogame system, even one as outdated as the N64. I never really got to see him again, which is a shame because he really was one of the most influential people from my childhood. I should've told him how much he meant to me. I hope he's okay. But, I've gotten sidetracked again.

What was I thinking about?

Right, what game. Hmm. So, there is also the fact that there is something going on a Hyrule Castle… But, really that could be almost any game that Hyrule Castle appears in… The weird lava lamp effect kind of reminded me of both Twilight Princess and Breath of The Wild.

Damn, this would be a lot easier if I could just ask Ramona what game I was in. Well, I could at least ask what's going on at the castle, at least that would give me some idea of the current events. Oh! Maybe I could ask for a map. If I could see the general geography of current Hyrule, I might be able to tell what game from just that.

With that small spark of inspiration, I settled down to sleep at least a little bit before the sun rose. The rest could wait until the morning.

The next morning came quickly. Though I must've only slept a couple hours, I was too restless to stay in bed once I caught sight of the first rays of dawn. Putting on the basic skirt, blouse, and belt outfit Ramona had set out for me. All together the outfit was a little short and a little big for me, but with the belt it didn't matter much. Besides, most women's clothes were too short for me.

Exiting the tent/house combo, I was greeted by a strange mixture of typical ranch animal smell, and cleaner air than I had ever felt in my life. Now that I wasn't too over stimulated from a panic attack, I could even enjoy the feeling of a morning in a place with no pollution. No even the countryside in France was this clear.

I resolutely set out to find Ramona, hoping she was just going to be in the corral again. I couldn't help but feel a small buzz of excitement vibrate through my bones. In a strange way, this almost felt like a real world use of my major. Asking the locals about relevant events was an important part of being a good historian. Just because I had outside knowledge of the history of this kingdom, didn't actually mean much in the face of actual citizens.

I need to play it cool though. I should pester Ramona with too many questions. Heaven forbid I wear her patience thin. I was trying to think of what questions would be best to get the most information I would need when I walked through the gate to the larger pasture area of the ranch. Thankfully I had been correct when I assumed she would be out in the corral. But, upon seeing her every single thought I had screeched to a halt.

It can't be.

Apparently, first thing in the morning they let the horse out into the corral. Ramona was in the process of leading some of them out. And following her along by the reins she held, was a rather surly looking Epona.

I continued walking towards the corral, knowing that we would reach it about the same time. I honestly felt like I was floating instead of walking. My heart beat so loudly in my ears that I really couldn't comprehend anything besides the sound and the image of a real life Epona in front of me.

I used to always think all those videos of girls screaming, crying, and fainting when they're close to a boy band or celebrity were ridiculous, but here in this second I understood them on a spiritual level.

"Lazarie! I didn't expect you to be awake so early. Did you have trouble sleeping?" Ramona called out as soon as she spotted me.

And, while I would have loved to answer her very kind question, my mouth seemed to forget how to work in the moment. So instead of the casual, 'I slept fine, I'm just an early riser.' I had wanted to say, what actually came out was, "S'fine, I'm rise."

I still hadn't taken my eyes off Epona. I honestly don't think I could at this moment.

"She's beautiful, isn't she? But, be careful. She still rather new around here and has a bit of a temper." Ramona chuckled at me. That got my attention.

"She's new? So she wasn't raised here then. Did someone register her here?" I asked, theories rapid firing through my brain. Maybe Link has already come by here? There are only a handful of games where Link has Epona, and if she's not from here that could really narrow down the possibilities.

"Oh no, she's doesn't have an owner. She actually found her way here herself. It seems like she got separated from her herd and found us instead. She's still pretty wild, so she doesn't really like any of the other ranch hands. She seems to really like music, though. I'm pretty sure that's the only reason she tolerates me." She explains merrily giving her a pat on the head.

"Oh! That's… Well, that's unique. But, I can't say I have much room to judge. Does she have a name?" I try to make my question sound as casual as possible, but it still comes out a bit forced. So, no Link then. Okay, that's fine.

"Oh, no. Not yet, she doesn't. I'm not really sure if she likes it here enough to stick around, yet. I'm also not sure if my dad is going to let us keep her if she keeps trying to bite people. So, it feels wrong to name her when she might not get to be here much longer." She rambles rather sadly.

My heart fluttered at that. Part of me wanted to immediately reach into my purse and pull out the ocarina. I really wondered if Epona would still react to the song, even if she didn't have the association to with it from her childhood. I figured I should probably wait until it was less conspicuous to do so.

By this time, we had already reached the center of the corral and Ramona had taken off the lead from Epona and the other horse with her. Epona swiftly left us behind so she could run around at her leisure.

"I'll be right back. I need to go get the last two horses and bring them out. Will you wait here for me?" Ramona asked cheerfully. My heart warmed just a little bit at the question, it felt like maybe she wants to talk to me as much as I do her.

"Yeah. Okay. I'll wait here for you." I replied fondly. It was a little strange, already feeling so warmly about a person that honestly I really didn't know. But, she did save me from those Stalchildren, and who wouldn't feel a little camaraderie with someone you literally rolled around in the dirt with. It's been a long time since I made such a fast friend, it was nice.

As I stood alone in the middle of the corral, I was hit with an overwhelming sense of peace. For the first time since coming here last night, I really felt like I was going to be okay. I didn't know how to get home, but that didn't really matter right now, because I was safe, I didn't end up in an unfamiliar world, and I knew that things would turn out okay. After all, this is a Zelda game, and no matter which one it turned out to be all Zelda games had one thing in common: Zelda games are always about healing from grief.

I was going to be okay.

Suddenly, I came upon the realization that I was alone, in the vicinity of a nameless horse that looks exactly like Epona. And I have the Ocarina of Time. Can't get a better opportunity than this, can I?

Seeing the ocarina in the daytime was a way more surreal experience than it had been before. The early dawn light reflected off the stone in a way that made it look almost iridescent. Ever since Skyward Sword, there had been the theory that the Ocarina of Time had either been made from the Doors of Time or was made of the same stone that they were. Having it in my hands, I honestly believed that to be true.

I took a steadying breath before placing the instrument to my lips. Finding the familiar placements was still easy even with the difference of size.

Here we go.

I had to force myself not to close my eyes, nerves desperately wanting to delay seeing if this worked. I started slow, already surprised at the deeper and clearer tone that this ocarina had as compared to my little clay one. But soon enough, the familiar lilting melody filled the air around me. In that moment, I could understand why Link always looked in surprise at the ocarina once he finished playing a brand new song. The music had a presence. I don't mean that I was a fantastic musician, I had just short of a decade of experience playing an ocarina and this was like nothing I had heard before. No. This was not my doing at all. I'm a firm believer that there is magic in all things, and if you listen carefully you can hear it. But, not even when I read tarot cards have I felt this kind of a presence around me.

I let myself revel in the sound for a bit longer than I intended, having only planned to play a couple repetitions. I was eventually interrupted by a strong nuzzle to the back of my head. In wonder, I turned around to come face to face with Epona; because there was no longer any doubt that this was in fact Epona.

I gaped at this gigantic animal completely in awe of how large real life horses are. In response to my stupor she huffed a deep breath straight into my face sending my short hair backwards off my forehead.

"Rude." I whispered as I slowly reached up to pet her. She allowed it for a couple seconds before nosing around my other hand and towards my purse. "I don't have any treats for you. I'm sorry." I apologized as I move on to petting her neck.

"Lazarie! Was that you playing?" Ramona called from the entrance of the horse corral. After closing the gate and letting the last 2 horses off their leads, she jogged over to join Epona and myself. "Wow! I haven't seen her be this nice to anyone before. That's amazing. Though, I can't blame her. I could only barely hear you song and it sounded so beautiful. It would have won me over too." She gushes as she joins in on petting the horse that is not yet Epona.

"Thanks. I… She seems really nice now. I can't imagine her being mean to other people." I mumbled cheeks tinted with embarrassment.

"Oh don't let her fool you. She tried to bite Gotter just yesterday when he tried to brush her. Isn't that right?" She shamed the horse. Not-Epona did not react to the admonishment seeing as she is a horse. "Speaking of Gotter, I'll need to go wake him up soon for his shift. Once he takes over I can whip up some breakfast for us. Do aliens like omelets?" She asked with a teasing grin.

"This one does."

Ramona and I sat around the fire pit and cooking stove munching on the chicken and cheese… cuckoo and cheese? Whatever. The bird and cheese omelets that Ramona had made us. The accompanying hot tea she brewed gave the whole meal a cozy homesteading kind of feel.

Not felt as good a time as any to finally start asking Ramona some questions. "So, Ramona. Last night, when I was up on the hill, I saw something going on at the castle across the valley. A black ooze of sorts coming off of it, and a golden light that seemed to be keeping it in. Do you know anything about it?" I asked trying to be both concise and open in hopes of getting as much information as possible. I hadn't thought to go outside the fence to look at the castle in the daylight, or any other landmark I could see from here. I would have to do that later.

"Oh… Yes… That's the Calamity. The golden light is the Princess's seal. She gave her life to protect us from the Calamity. It's trapped inside the castle now. It's best not to get to close to the castle now though. Some of it seeps out sometimes, makes just horrid creatures. Monsters in Hyrule Field are bad enough, but that thing… They're nightmares." Ramona explained with a heavy sense of melancholy. Wow, that was easier than I thought it was going to be. So, this is definitely Breath of the Wild. And really it made sense, yeah there was a slight difference with the set up of the stables, but that's only minor, and Calamity Ganon only ever showed up in that game.

Oh shit. Does that mean the guardians are gonna be everywhere? That might make travelling a bit difficult.

"Sorry. I know this might sound strange, but does the Calamity exist in your world? You just… don't seem surprised or confused by it, is all." Ramona asked quietly.

"No. Not really. But, I have heard of it. There are… stories… um, legends, I guess, about Hyrule and it's history. I never thought they were real though. But, yeah. I know what the Calamity is." I explained as best I could. It was really early and Ramona was being so nice to me; I really didn't feel up to lying to her about this… about me. I could leave out the things she wouldn't understand like videogames and still keep the essence of what I was saying truthful.

"That's good. Not having the Calamity there, I mean. It must be nice to not have that hanging over your head." She replied wistfully. Trying to think of a question I could ask to change the subject to something light was difficult. I hadn't expected the first answer I got to so firmly put me in one of the games. What else could I ask her?

Come on brain. What had I thought about last night?

A map? Right!

"Ramona, do you happen to have a map? I think that my help me better understand where I am." I asked excitedly. That was it. If I could see a map, and it was the same one as Breath of The Wild then that would really confirm that it's indeed the game I'm in.

Good job, Lazarie. You're so smart, Lazarie. A little mental praise could be useful every now and again.

"Of course. We have one in the main tent for travellers to look at." She replied brightly, "We could go finish our food at the table in there and look at it, if you would like."

"That sounds wonderful." I heartily agreed and carefully made my way to my feet, mindful of the food and drink in my hands. No five second rule when your standing on dirt after all.

Making our way inside the main tent, I was struck with how similar it was to the games. It was a bit larger, and it seemed like they might also sell their Lon Lon Ranch milk out of here as well, but that was about as far as the differences went. I was so excited about the milk that I almost completely missed the sight of a woman sitting on one of the bed brushing her hair, having clearly just woken up. Parcy. So this must have replaced the Riverside Stable.

Parcy, the treasure hunter, had been one of the random NPCs that I had really liked. She was cute and helpful with how to get into the castle. It was strange seeing her in the flesh versus on a game screen. She was so similar to the avatar in the game: same round face, same heavy bangs and even bob, that she was easy to recognize if you knew what to look for. There was something really reassuring as well about seeing her though. Not because it further supported my theory of being in Breath of the Wild, but because she was so clearly East Asian. One of the things that I really love about Zelda is even though it's a medieval fantasy setup; it is so multicultural. Like, it obviously flaws, and many problems with racist depictions over the years, but there was really no divorcing it from its Japanese background. Then with the temple obviously drawing from many different cultures it really made for a wonderful blend of diversity.

Hopefully, some of the problems of the game wont carry over to real life.

Ramona quickly got my attention and waved me over to the table. She had already spread the map out over the surface and used her plate and cup to hold down two of the corners. I mimicked the gesture placing my own cup and plate over the two remaining corners and proceeded to study the map.

At first, it was a little bit difficult to read due to never having to read a map that wasn't on my phone before, and the fact that this was a monotone hand drawn map instead of an interactive digital one. But, after studying it I slowly started to recognize features. Death Mountain and the Gerudo Desert were the first and easiest things to find. But, eventually others followed behind until I could say with some certainty that is was definitely the Breath of the Wild map.

Pride at figuring out which game I was in filled me, with only a little tinge of disappointment. I had already suspected that this wasn't going to be Ocarina of Time, but I guess I had still been holding onto a little hope that it was. Whatever. Get over it. It's not like I haven't spent the past couple years procrastinating my homework so I could play just a little more.

"Well? Does it help?" Ramona asked quietly so as to not disturb any of the other inhabitants of the tent.

'Yeah. Yeah it does. Are we about here?" I whispered gently placing my finger on the map about where the Riverside Stable was on the map. She adjusted my placement only slightly before nodding. I continued to ask where other locations were, Hyrule Castle, Kakariko Village, Zora's Domain, and others like them. Just seeing these places on the map filled me with energy.

There's a whole world out there, a world that I've been dreaming of since I was a child. I knew I couldn't just hang around here and wait for the Hero to show up. But, I needed to be careful. I was going to need supplies and a sword. I doubt punching a Guardian or a Moblin was going to do much of anything. Okay, so I need to calm down. No use rushing things and setting out too soon, not while I was safe here.

"Ramona, I don't have any money, but do you think I could stay here for a little while? I've never worked with animals before but I'd be willing to learn any odd jobs that need to be done? Just until I get things together enough that I can set out on my own." I plead quietly holding my hands in front of me.

"Of course. I'm not gonna let them just throw you out of here. You can stay as long as you need. Besides, it's already been pretty fun having you around." She teased giving me a wink.

And, just like that, I officially had a safe haven in a brand new world.

_Notes:_

_Hey guys! Thanks for making it to chapter 2! I want to give a real big thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter! They were so nice and made me so happy. I must have read them a dozen times each over the past week. One of them even gave some great questions so first thing let's answer those._

_For the question about The Eclipse Game ritual:_

_So I did make the game from scratch. I have a bit of an obsession with games like that, though I am a baby and do not play them. I did however do quite a bit of reading on similar types of games for research._

_For the question about how many chapters before discovering the discrepancies:_

_So as you can obviously see from the chapter above, she is already noticing things aren't perfectly in sync with the game. This is a major part of the story so it's going to be happening pretty constantly, but it's obviously going to take a bit of time before she really begins to grasp that her entire grasp of "Canon" might not be as factual as she previously believed._

_Again, thank you so much for the lovely reviews. They mean the whole world to me. And if anyone has any more questions please leave them in the reviews, I will try to answer them in the next chapter's notes. Also, please let me know what you guys think of the chapter! I would really love some feedback._

_So, I don't really have a set in stone update schedule planned yet, but I am hoping to give you guys a new chapter once every week-ish. I can't commit to that completely because I am an adult with an adult life to live, but it is my goal to get a chapter a week. I'm also very hopeful that I can do it. So until next time,_

_Thanks_


	3. It's Dangerous to Go Alone

A Hyrule Historian

Chapter III

It's Dangerous to Go Alone

I had officially been in Hyrule for 3 days now, and I think I was handling it well. Thankfully, there were enough odd jobs on the ranch to keep me busy for the most part. It was nice to have the monotony of manual labor to help keep my hands busy while my mind buzzed with all of the information I had gathered in these first few days.

I now had a little leather-bound notebook, courtesy of Parcy, which really helped me with not thinking about how I was technically stuck in another dimension with no way to ever get home. I decided to use the first couple dozen pages to write down all of the info and meanings of my Tarot deck. I still had a good handle on all 78 cards right now, seeing as this had been one of my side hustles for the past couple years, but I knew that there was a chance that wouldn't be the case forever. I had my cards in their little velvet pouch in my purse when I played the Eclipse Game, so thankfully they had made it over here with me, but I hadn't thought it necessary to bring my tarot book with me, so I would have to settle for my hand written notes on the various meanings and my preferred spreads. With those notes completed, I had decided to write down all of the Zelda related songs for the ocarina that I could.

It was a nice afternoon, not too hot but not too windy to write. I was sitting on the bench in the corral with Parcy. I was busy writing down my notes, while Parcy seemed to be spending her time watching Ramona leading the horses back to the stable. The wooden awning above us was kindly keeping the sun off of our skin as we relaxed. It was peaceful, if not a little boring.

That was a good description of the past few days, wasn't it? Peaceful, but boring. I should be grateful to not have had any run ins with monster or the like, but I really felt a bit stir crazy just sitting here. There is a whole world out there, one full of history that the games had really only ever hinted at. I know I need to prepare myself as best I can to face whatever is out there, but I couldn't help but feel impatient at my own hesitance. I wanna go now!

It hasn't helped that I really can't get much information from the immediate area surrounding the Ranch. In fact, the majority of the things I had learned were from a lack of notable sights from the game. So far I had become increasingly concerned about the lack of:

1\. Sheikah towers. Though that could be attributed to Link not being awake yet. So that was pretty easily explained and was actually a little helpful, considering it gave me a general timeline for this.

2\. Sheikah Shrines. This was a bit more confusing. From the flashbacks in the game it was pretty apparent that the shrines were clearly visible long before Link could actually use them. But, the one that should be somewhere around here is nowhere to be found.

3\. My phone. Okay, so this one wasn't really that concerning. But, when I went back up to the hill and couldn't find it, I had an unfortunate thought of maybe a Bokoblin using my phone kinda made me sad. Maybe, a Poe stole it. That did actually make me feel a little better. That Poe probably deserves some good solitaire time.

4\. The Guardians. Now, this one had some conflicting emotions attached to it. I was at first relieved to not see those nightmares so close to our little safe haven, but then the weight of the situation hit me. Because, those things should be everywhere. I had a very good view of the ruins of Hyrule Castle and the town around it and I could not see a single Guardian. So now I was a bit paranoid, mostly because I worried that maybe they were somehow invisible and I could not emotionally handle that.

And, that was mostly it. So, over the past few days my confidence in knowing what game I was in was more than a little shaken. Because really, the absence of Sheikah technology mixed with the presence of Lon Lon Ranch and monsters such as Stalchildren made for some conflicting data.

I was startled out of my thoughts by a light tug on one of my curls, making it bounce up in recoil. The accompanying comment of, "You okay, Alien?" made me look up to Parcy next to me. She looked concerned, obviously guessing that something was worrying me at the moment. The visible concern and usage of my new nickname that the two girls had started made me slightly more than a little embarrassed. It was the first time I had ever really had a nickname. Well… that is to say, a nickname that wasn't people trying to pick on me. I was 5'8" by the time I was out of primary school, so I was a rather easy target for bullies. It took me a long time to gain any kind of comfort with my height. Whatever. That's the past.

"Something on your mind? You stopped writing." Parcy continued when I didn't immediately answer. I could feel my face get noticeably warmer at the comment. I hadn't realized she had been paying that much attention to me.

"Oh. Um. Not really. Well, I mean yes. I was thinking about the differences I've noticed between this world and the one from the Legend." I rambled nervously, grateful, at least, that I had already talked to her about the "Legends" from our world about this one. It was much easier to talk to them without having to worry about keeping up any lies about where I was from and all of that. In fact, everyone at the ranch seemed very interested in any of the stories I have told them so far. We had even begun a nightly ritual of eating dinner together and sharing stories or sometimes even reading Tarot for the various inhabitants. It was nice. While I couldn't say I was exceptionally close with any of them, after all it had only been 3 days since I arrived, but everyone seemed really nice here. Maybe, since they were all technically part of the service industry, functioning as an inn for travelers and all that, it was just their form of customer service. But, could I really be called a customer? I've only had to work for my stay, even then it was nothing exceptionally hard, the music store I worked at had me lifting heavier boxes than they did here, and they would even pay me for card readings.

So, I guess whatever the reason it was nice here.

"But, how do you know the differences in this world from your stories if you have barely been outside this stable? The real world can be far different than the one people talk about." Parcy chuckled good-naturedly. She was right of course.

"I know that, and trust me- I want to get out there and see it for myself so terribly, but it's not like I have the supplies or skills to do so. No map, compass, food, weapons, or enough money to purchase said goods, I'm kinda dead in the water. I'm working on it though. I'll figure out a way. It's only a matter of time." I explained a tinge whinier than I had intended. It got a chuckle out of Parcy and a snort from Ramona, who had decided to come over when she heard us chatting, so it was fine.

"Where will you go first, once you start travelling? Maybe, to the mystical forest that your Hero is from?" Ramona goaded playfully. Which, in all fairness I probably deserved. I had just started to tell them about the events of Ocarina of Time and Ramona had already picked up on the fact that I cared a great deal more for the characters of it than some of the other games. She had even called me out on it right before we parted ways last night, her to be the night lookout and me to sleep in her bed. Her comment of, "It's sweet, the way you talk about them, almost like they're old friends instead of heroes of legend," had flustered me all the way to bed. It was embarrassing that someone who had only known me for a few days could clock me like that, but it was true I guess. I had spent so much time obsessing over that game growing up that in a weird way it did feel like a childhood friend.

I considered the question seriously, though. Where would I go first? The Lost Woods, like she had guessed, were actually a pretty bad idea. I know what happens to adults who wander in there and it was not high on my list to become a Stalfos, even if I did want to see the Great Deku Tree terribly. That's my tree dad after all. If not there…

"Probably Kakariko Village. It's the smartest and safest bet I think I could go for starting out. Besides, if I go there, maybe they have a way I could get up onto the Great Plateau." I mused allowed, happily letting myself consider the adventure to be had.

"Why do you want to go to the Great Plateau?" Parcy asked so swiftly that I almost didn't comprehend the question being asked. Why did I… Oh!

"You know the legend I started to tell you last night? Well, supposedly, there is a place up there that's really important to it... important to me. Even if it's barely there, I still want to see it, at least once." I said wistfully, because that was it. If I could go anywhere, see anything, it would have to be the Temple of Time. It was so important to me as a kid. Even, if this one looked a bit different and was in quite a state of disrepair, I still had to see it for myself.

Ramona shot Parcy a suspiciously conspiratorial grin, to which Parcy only shot back a confused one. I could feel my hackles rise with panic, unsure what all this meant.

"Well, we may not have any way to get you up the Plateau, if there is a way to get up there it's been lost to the ages, but we might be able to help you achieve that first part a little sooner…" Ramona said with a smooth sort of glide in her voice. I was still a bit on edge, every nerve in my body screaming that she was planning something and I had no way of knowing if it was going to be detrimental to me.

I chanced taking my eyes of Ramona for a second to see what Parcy's reaction to the statement. She seemed, rather cutely, confused for the most part, the gears spinning in her head almost visible from the look on her face. The confusion quickly shifted as the metaphorical light bulb lit up above her head in understanding in its place a large much less scheming smile instead.

"Okay…" I offer up suspiciously.

"Well, you see… Once a week, good ol' Parcy here accompanies me on the milk delivery to one of our four distribution stables across Hyrule, and it just so happens that the day after tomorrow, we are heading to the Dueling Peaks Stable!" Ramona gestured grandly as she dramatically voiced her thoughts.

Parcy chuckled before adding, "It would only add a day or so to our trip if we swung up to Kakariko Village. That is if you wanted to come with?"

The suspicion that had dug deep into my bones melted to warm gooey gratefulness.

"I would love that thank you so- Wait. Parcy you go too? Parcy do you work here?" I ask in confusion. I knew Parcy was a more permanent resident here, but I hadn't ever seen her doing work here, just going out to adventure and coming back by nightfall.

"Oh, not really no. They just hire me to protect Ramona on the weekly milk runs. The roads are usually pretty quite, especially if you're on them during the day, but every now and then some monsters make camp a bit too close and Ramona can't out run them with the wagon full of milk. So, they figured they could use some muscle." She explained while flexing her arms for comedic effect.

"Oh. Cool. Makes sense." I nod, "Well, then, I would love to come with the two of you! Thanks so so much for inviting me." I cheer, excited at the prospect of getting to travel.

"Yay! This will be fun! I haven't been to Kakariko in so long!" Ramona clapped her hands excitedly, "Oh! I'll go let my father know that you'll be coming with." With a bounce to her step she runs off.

"She seems really excited." I comment quietly to myself.

"Yeah. She gets like this. The combination of going somewhere that isn't here and the fact that she wont have to leave her new friend is pretty big for her." Parcy mused from besides me.

Friend? They already think of me as a friend? Or, I guess, Parcy didn't include herself, so… Ramona thinks of me as a friend? I smiled, only slightly embarrassed. I guess that wouldn't be bad though. A road trip with friends.

Sounds nice.

Time seemed to pass in an instant and before I knew it a whole day had passed and Ramona and Parcy were waking me up just before sun up to prepare to set out. I was always a pretty easy riser in the morning, too many years of anxiety nightmares for me to be too good at sleeping, but this morning it felt like I was up and out of bed before I was even fully awake. We were going to have to ride with little stopping for the whole day in order to make it to the Dueling Peaks Stable before sun down. We spent the majority of the day before going over what to expect on the journey. What to do if we saw monsters, what formation we would be riding in, where we would be stopping, going over the map, and other such necessities were the focus… Well, that and showing me how to get on and off a horse. Specifically, Epona.

Right, that was a thing now. Once Timon, Ramona's father, had seen her cozying up to someone that wasn't just his daughter, he had been more than a bit shocked. The short Mario looking man had been swayed to change his opinion on the horse, even letting us go so far to name her. The now officially dubbed Epona was comparatively nicer to the other workers, but that really only meant that she hadn't tried to bite anyone now that she was getting her music fix. It did mean that the only condition Timon had when it came to me going on this trip was that I took Epona with me. I couldn't say I wasn't thrilled at the thought of getting to go on a small adventure with the horse of my dreams, that was until I remembered I had never been on a horse in my entire life.

Just a small thing like that.

But none of that mattered right now. Because, it was time to set off on an adventure. I was already set up on Epona with the basic needs readily available to me: some fruit if I needed a snack, a wooden post to smack monsters with if they came to close to the cart, and lets not forget the Magic fucking Bottle that kept it's contents at the same temperature that they originally up in as. No wonder the bottles in the game were such a big deal. I would also covet magic refrigerator bottles. Mine was only filled with water for the journey, but still that was cool as shit.

Ramona and Parcy came out to join me soon enough, Parcy first on a horse of her own, and Ramona after in her horse drawn, covered wagon full of milk. With a few tips on posture and some rather futile words on how to control your horse, we were off as the sun rose.

Hyrule field was truly a divine sight. I had been worried about the large chance that I was going to be mind-numbingly bored while we travelled, coming from a world where you sped down highways or flew to travel any kind of distance. I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't feel the same at all. Maybe it was the fact that I wasn't cooped up in a tiny compartment for god knows how long, but most likely it was from the truly breath taking views Hyrule had to offer.

I had lived many places in my life. But even the French countryside hadn't prepared me for this. In fairness though, that probably had more to do with the fact that I haven't lived in France since I was like 6, so I can only barely remember anything about it.

The road that we were taking was not much more than a well-trodden dirt path that had maybe at one time long ago been outlined in bricks. We passed by a beautiful river, a babbling brook if you will, and many fields of wildflowers. Meadows long ignored and left to invade any space that they could reach. In the distance, through the early morning mist, I could make out the shapes of mountains. It was a land so untouched by humans that it really had an unexplainable sense of fairytale wonder to it.

The path we were on did have a rather long detour around a light density forest of what might have been apple trees or dogwood trees or both… neither? Who knows? But despite the picturesque light filtering through the trees, I was promptly informed that I shouldn't blindly trust any kind of wooded areas, as they were a particular favorite hiding spot for bokoblins and chuchus. I couldn't say I minded taking the scenic route, after all it gave us the optimum lunch picnic stop, the base of The Great Plateau.

It was sometime around midday when our path curved enough that The Great Plateau was no longer obscured by the trees. It was honestly even more breathtaking in real life than it was in the game. Huge ancient pillars and archways decorated the impossibly tall cliffs. No mountain hike could have prepared me for the presence of this massive feat of architecture. Just seeing this incredibly impressive monument to Hylian architecture made me both desperately want to see what was on top and also go see what the Lanayru Promenade looked like in person. The architecture must be similar after all. It did strike me how much this sight really gave credence to the theory that this was Ocarina of Time's Castle Town picked up and switched with the Lost Woods. It was very clearly a fortress structure that had been forcibly removed and placed here. The real question was why though. Maybe, since I was here now, I could find historical texts about this.

We eventually found a rather decorative column that mostly reached the ground to stop by and unpack our picnic lunch. I made the executive decision to eat while standing and surveying the massive pillar instead of sitting on the blanket with Ramona and Parcy. Ostensibly, it was so I could spend as much time as possible looking into the ancient architecture, but in actuality I just wasn't sure if my incredibly sore ass and thighs would be able to handle sitting and standing back up again. Riding a horse takes a lot more out of you than I thought.

The pain did make me regret the decision to wear my outfit from home for the trip. The light fabric of the flowing pants were not as cushioned as one would hope for while having their legs stretched out across a horse's back. But, I was no stranger to muscle pain, years of track, weightlifting, and boxing made the burn familiar and I knew with enough time I wouldn't have this same problem.

I just wished the ache would subside faster. I also wished I had brought a bottle of ibuprofen. I hope one of the inconsistencies from this world and Breath of the Wild is the existence of Red Potions. I doubt eating food is going to give me the sweet medical relief that a potion of modern medicine would provide.

Well, no use dwelling on things I can't change, that's for middle of the night panics attacks are for. And hey, I do have things that are nice to have here, like my Tarot deck, the large round sunglasses that have been a blessing in the bright daytime hours, heck I even had a small collection of makeup that had made a home in my bag over the years. Small comforts of home really made a difference in this case I think. Also, it was fun to draw stupid little hearts underneath my eyes and make up different stories about why I do it. I didn't even want to begin to try and explain what an E-girl was to them, let alone why I specifically started doing my makeup this way because fuck anyone who tries to shame girls for wanting to be cute.

Soon enough our sandwiches were gone and a good deal of the apples we had packed as well. With an amount of clumsiness that would have thoroughly embarrassed my childhood gymnastics teacher, I miraculously made it up into Epona's saddle.

The next few hours were similar to the first few of the day, the sights just as mystical and friendly conversation came and went with much more ease than it rightfully should have. They told me stories of their past trips. I told them of more "legends" I had of this world.

By the time the sky was noticeably changing color, signifying the oncoming night, we had officially made it to the gap between the Dueling Peaks. The peaks truly were a geological wonder. Had we been back home they absolutely would have been one of the Seven Wonders of the World. I wonder what event could have split them in two like this. The further into the mountain we got the darker and more surreal the path seemed to get. Looking straight up the cracked cliffs gave such a strong sense of vertigo that it almost made me feel like I was going to fall right off Epona's back.

I was just getting over one of these dizzy spells when I heard Parcy quietly call for our attention.

"Ramona. Lazarie. Stop." She waved at us to further get our attention. We both pulled back on our reigns quietly until we came to a stop, with Epona only backing up a few paces because of my pulling back for too long.

We both sent her questioning glances, noting her tense posture and grip on her sword. I anxiously pat around until I can feel the wooden post strapped onto the saddle behind me. I tried to remember what enemies that were found in this gap between the peaks. There was a camp of bokoblins, right. Which bank were they on though? North? South? Oh shit. Were there Octorocks in the river too? Those assholes were everywhere in the game. We really haven't run into that many monsters yet. Shit.

"Looks like a small camp of Bokoblins. We'll need to just try and get past them swiftly. Lazarie, you go first, get Epona to run as fast as you can straight through the center. Hopefully that will confuse them long enough to let Ramona get the wagon through the camp as well. Hit any on them you can with the post. I'll take up the back and keep them from following. Okay?" She whispers intensely.

We nod in confirmation, "How do I make Epona run?" I panic realizing there isn't just a button to press to go faster. In movies and stuff they just kick them or hit their butt right? But I don't want to be mean to Epona, she's a good girl.

"Crack the reins, push you heels into her sides, and then press tightly with your thighs to let her know she needs to keep going." Ramona quietly offers trying to smile encouragingly.

I nod my head along with her instructions and hope that the insecurity and panic aren't apparent on my face.

By the looks they're giving me I'm fairly certain I failed.

"Okay Epona, we gotta go fast alright?" I whisper as I try to position myself to hold the wooden post and her reins at the same time, "Please don't buck me off." With a steadying breath, I kick once at her sides and snap the reins. I try to squeeze her with my legs and thighs, which all together gets her to go at a fast trot. I was fast approaching the outcropping of rocks that hid whatever camp Parcy had seen from my view but I knew I would need to go faster if Parcy's plan was going to work.

I give Epona a firmer kick than before, still terrified of hurting her, she's such a big animal but I still would rather be gentle with her. Squeezing as tight as my sore legs could she finally takes off. Running in a full sprint we pass the rocks and are immediately amidst the bokoblins. We're going to fast for me to count how many there are, but Epona seems to understand that we are being rough and tumble kind of girls so she tramples some of them without question. I hold out the post and manage to smack one of these upsetting goblin babies across the face, unfortunately causing me to loose my grip of the post.

Within seconds I'm already past the camp heading towards the other side of the mountains, the wooden post merely a dream of the past. I turn my head to look at the chaos behind me. As according to the plan, Ramona and the wagon were already making their way through the screaming rage filled mess of a camp. Her horse and the wheels of the wagon crushing more of the bokoblins that were in the way. I tried to steer Epona to run closer to the river and slow so the wagon could reach us. I had moderate success in my endeavor. I manage to get Epona to splash around the shallow bank of the river, out of the way maybe a bit too much, but we end up slowing down so much the wagon passes us.

As I try to get Epona to move faster again, me flicking the reins and squeezing her sides seem to get the message across, I do manage to get an amazing glance of Parcy, sword drawn and silhouetted against the setting sun, galloping after us felling any bokoblin that tries to follow us with such ease it was apparent she had years of sword fighting experience.

We didn't slow down until we had fully exited the mountain and were certain that no one was following us anymore. By that time, it was well and truly night time and the only light around were the stars and the soft lantern light of the Dueling Peaks Stable, maybe half a mile away.

"That was mildly thrilling." I remarked a little out of breath from how fast my heart was still beating. I have been in a couple real fights within my life, never mind how many fake and practice fights I'd been in for boxing, but they never made me quite this anxious. Maybe, because they had only happened when I had been incredibly furious, one when a grown ass adult was trying to grope what looked like a preteen girl at a comic convention and the other when I happened to stumble upon a Neo-Nazi shouting filth outside a mall. While the two that I have been in since coming to Hyrule have been with monsters that entire intention is to kill.

I guess that was it. Back home when I fought it was against figurative monsters. Humans who believed that they were allowed to treat other people horrifically and not have to pay for their actions. But that's not been the case here. Here there are monsters. Creatures that would mindlessly play their part in bringing about the end of the world and all life as we know it. Creatures that wouldn't think twice about killing me. That don't care about any repercussions to their actions.

It scared me. Nine years of boxing and two real fights didn't mean shit when you average enemy had swords or claws and were looking for blood. It really just drove home the fact that I needed to learn how to use a sword A.S.A.P.

The Dueling Peaks Stable had always been one of my favorites. Maybe it's because it was the first one I ever came across in the game or because it seemed like it was the homiest of all of them. Whatever the case may be, it was nice to be within the somewhat familiar tent. We ate a simple dinner of some kind of hearty beef stew and bread and were now winding down from the day in the safety of the tent. Ramona and Parcy were entertaining the to children, Shibo and Darton, while I made a show of reading the Rumor Mill book at the small table. The two girls were obviously very familiar with the young boys and Ramon especially seemed to easily be able to distract them with overly dramatic tales of wonder from around Hyrule. I was grateful to not be obligated to join in because, while I didn't mind children in concept, I was rather bad at taking care of them and it made me uncomfortable.

Instead, I let Ramona's voice drown out to a fuzzy part of the back of my mind as I idly trace the Hylian script on the page in front of me. That was a strange revelation for me come to think of it. The morning after I first arrived in Hyrule I had taken one look at the large sign above the entrance that read "Welcome to Lon Lon Ranch" and promptly had to sit down to process the fact that I could read the Hylian script as easy as I could English or French. That left some huge questions to be answered, because before I came here I was able to do that. Sure, I spent a lot of time deciphering the Hylian, Sheikah, and Gerudo text within the games but I always had a cipher someone else had made for that. I could never just read it. Did that mean I could read the other languages? Did a part of my brain change when I did the ritual? There were so many possibilities and no readily available answers.

Speaking of questions without answers, I now had more evidence to file in the "this is probably Breath of the Wild but also I am concerned" category. While the lay of the land was almost exact to the game, there were still no Guardians or Sheikah Shrines in sight. The meadow just behind the stable, the one that should be littered with dead Guardian shells, the one where Link died and Zelda awakened, was completely empty. There wasn't a single Guardian in sight. Then there was the shrine-less pond across from the stable. While she might have been able to pass off the missing Riverside Shrine as her forgetting the location, there was no way she was mistaken about this one. It just wasn't there. But, Breath of the Wild is almost completely about the Sheikah technology in it. So where was it?

Hopefully, Kakariko Village might contain some answers.

The morning came swiftly and we were off to Kakariko bright and early. We left the wagon and the horse pulling it at the stable to both let them rest, but also not have the cumbersome wagon on the narrow mountain trail.

I had originally thought that Ramona might just ride the horse up, but she wanted to let him rest after a day's hard work. Instead, she merely hoped up behind Parcy with practiced ease. Now that we weren't on official ranch business, she had changed into a more casual outfit, not more ridiculous hat. The simple dress and ever present hibiscus flower in her hair made her all the more reminiscent of Marin.

The trail was beautiful as ever. The tall mountains encapsulating us with their smooth grey stone sometimes blocking out anything but the sky, and other time opening up and showing us gorgeous valleys of green hills and flowers.

We all had a definite air of giddiness surrounding us. Our giggles and chatter making the rather empty road seem so much livelier than it was.

"Oh! And when we get there you'll have to try this food that they make, there are these little fried pancakes shaped like fish! They're filled with red bean paste or sometimes custard. They're so yummy! You have to try them." Ramona joyfully explained to me obviously wanting to gesture wildly but hand to occupied by being wrapped around Parcy's waist.

"Ramona tried to eat her weight in them the last time we went." Parcy gleefully added, causing said girl to flush and bury her head in Parcy's back. Ramona then proceeded to lightly run her fingers across Parcy's sides and abdomen causing the girl to twitch and giggle uncontrollably. The three of us settled comfortably into quiet chuckles as we took in more of our surroundings.

As my eyes wandered back to my companions I noticed the cute position the two had settled into. Ramona was still loosely clutching Parcy's waist, while resting her chin on the other girl's shoulder. Parcy seemed to be leaning back casually into the embrace with one hand on the reins and the other softly cupping Ramona's. It was incredibly sweet and seemed so natural between the two of them. They must be really close.

Wait…

Oh!

Oh!

Oh my god! They're lesbians, Harold! Okay, calm the fuck down, Lazarie. They could be just friends. It ain't none of your business, young lady. But, also consider if they aren't straight maybe more people aren't and also I won't be the only Bi in this place. Until this very moment, I hadn't really realized that this was a concern for me. I knew that the idea I had of Hyrule wasn't very straight centered, but I also knew that a lot of people over the years have had kind of alarmingly straight thoughts about it. I couldn't help but have just a little bit of hope that something so important to me might not be as inherently biased against me.

I guess time will tell.

We didn't make much more conversation on our way up, but it didn't feel as awkward as it could have been. The silence was peaceful and still charged with excitement. There was just no need to fill it.

We rode nonstop up the trail, though to be fair it was only just past midday by the time we got to the gates of Kakariko Village. The sight was breathtaking. Unlike the game, the entrance gates were a long stretch of tightly placed Torii, the red wood beautifully carved with Hylian characters instead of Japanese. I've never been to Japan or a Shinto shrine before so I had never seen one in person before, but they were just as beautiful as I had imagined. It was such an unexpected but incredibly welcomed sight.

We had to dismount our horses and lead them one by one, apparently there would be a place to board them right inside the village. But it only made walking through the corridor of gates so much more magical.

After the gates, there was a long stone staircase up to the village proper. Flowers and trees meticulously placed and manicured made what would have otherwise been a plain path, dream-like in nature. I could hear the girls chuckling behind me, though whether it was at me or each other I couldn't fathom. I could bare to take my eyes of the scenery to check. I didn't want to miss a single detail.

Though the staircase was long, it was actually a rather fast walk to the top of the hill and before I knew it we were at the top. The valley stretched out, waterfalls, rivers, and tall mountain peaks forming not only most of the perimeter but also the layout of the village itself. It looked strikingly different from the game, despite the presence of many pagoda styled buildings. There were two things that really struck me however. There was a large windmill on top of one of the large hills, it's top raising up above the peaks to better catch the mountain winds. Then, even from over vantage point far away from it, in the center of the town was a well.

My heart nearly beat out of my chest at the sight of those familiar but different sights. I knew that moment I would need to go take a closer look at them.

Once we had set up the horses for the night, we made our way through Kakariko. There were more buildings than Breath of the Wild, and surprisingly many of them were actually very old looking ranch styled homes. The extreme difference in architecture was shocking but so seamlessly integrated that it was obvious that these buildings were built around each other possibly hundreds of years apart. But it was more than just the building that didn't follow the streamline of the games. People out and about enjoying their days, but most of them didn't look Sheikah at all; that and the fact that most all of them weren't wearing the distinct Sheikah clothing style or anything with the symbol on it at all. This was a much more diverse Kakariko Village than Breath of the Wild. It was almost reminiscent of Ocarina of Time.

I had to actively remind myself not to run towards the town center like a maniac. Curiosity fueling my tired legs better than any energy drink I ever downed in desperation did. Eventually, the three of us made in to the center of the town, where I had spotted the well. There was a large very official looking building that almost matched Impa's house to the finest detail from the game. There wasn't a goddess statue and spring in the middle though. Instead there was that well, with a it's little wooden roof keeping the sun off of it. From where I was standing I could see that it had a plaque on it, but I was still to far to read it.

"Lazarie, are you okay?" I'm not certain if Parcy or Ramona asked. In fact, if I tried to recall our trip down here, I believe both of them have asked this question multiple times now.

"Yeah. Um. Well." I state as I slowly approach the small plaque on the well. I can feel my arms and legs trembling, but in this moment it doesn't matter, because I am just about close enough to read the etched words on the shiny metal surface.

"Well, Holy Shit." Comes from somewhere behind me, but I don't pay it any attention even though my brain flags that something is off about the exclamation. The only thing that matters is that little plaque.

"One of these things is not like the others-," a smooth, smug to the point of almost being sinister voice sang out from behind me. That did catch my attention, that familiar song of countless people's childhoods; a song that is so out of place in this world without television or Sesame Street.

In wonder, I slowly turn around to look at the singer. At the bottom of the stair to what's is definitely Impa's house, is a teenage girl. She's visually intense to look at, her mixture of sewage green and banana yellow hair, her rather revealing and almost too bondage-y to be considered Goth outfit, and the many tattoos and piercings on display making her against all odds very strikingly attractive in an intimidating way. But, most telling is the Cheshire grin stretched across her face, manic and vicious in a mockery of the normally friendly gesture. As we make eye contact her smile gets impossibly wider as she opens her mouth,

"One of these things just doesn't belong."

_Notes:_

_Oh man! I've been so excited to get here. There are so many revelations to be had in Kakariko and it's one of my favorite locations from any Zelda game. I loved Kakariko in Breath of the Wild but I will admit I was a little sad to not see some of the familiar landmarks from Ocarina to so I'm here to amend that!_

_Thanks so much for the review and new favs and followers! I get really excited whenever I see any messages especially._

_As always please leave me and questions of comment or anything in the reviews. I'd love to hear what you guys are thinking. _

_Thanks for reading!_


	4. I Can't Decide

A Hyrule Historian

Chapter IV

I Can't Decide (Whether You Should Live or Die)

I stared in disbelief at this girl in front of me. Even though I had never seen her before, I already knew she was like me, someone who played the game and went forth to a new dimension. I knew I should say something, do something but I was stuck, mind racing with information that I had never thought of. It makes sense though. Of course there would be other people, other players of the Eclipse Game, here. The Legend of Zelda is incredibly popular the world over, especially now that Breath of the Wild has really put the series back into the limelight. There are probably countless people here. I'm not sure how to feel about that.

Well, I guess I shouldn't count on joining Link in his journey then, if there are so many more people here.

Wait.

Did I want to join Link on his journey? I had never really put too much thought into it. I guess I was just kind of assuming that since I ended up here that's what I was supposed to do. After all that's how all of the self-insert fanfics I had read go. But now, I'm not special, or more aptly not unique. If I'm not the only person here then that means it's not my "destiny" to go on his adventure. I could do whatever I wanted. So, that begged the question, do I want to travel with Link?

If this was Ocarina of Time, the answer would have been a very obvious yes, but since this is probably Breath of the Wild…I don't think I do. I don't really have much interest in the Divine Beasts, while they were truly marvels of machination and magic, they weren't exactly a font of knowledge when it came to history. That was probably the biggest let down in Breath of the Wild for me. They made a world so full of history and geographical wonders and all of the dungeons were really divorced from it.

You know, if I wasn't here to help Link on his journey, I could really spend some time looking further into the history of Hyrule.

As I was lost in thought, I barely noticed the girl walking up to me, that is until she used one finger to push my slack jaw shut. "You know, a pretty thing like you shouldn't let your mouth hang open like that. Makes me want to shove something into it. The name's Ashford, but you can call me Ash. What's your name, pretty lady?" She maliciously cooed. It was hard to compute, she was pretty definitely flirting, but her tone and still too wide grin gave off such an air of danger, that I really felt the need to run.

"I'm Lazarie…" I manage to force out, drawing the m sound out for too long as if it would make my heart stop its rapid beating.

Ash shifted her stance, no longer leaning sharply into my personal space in favor a lazier slouch that made her very short cut of shorts and fishnet stockings stretch over her brown thighs rather attractively. She had such an intimidating presence that despite being almost a full head shorter than me, it felt like she towered over me, as if I was just a child in comparison. "Lazarie, huh? Cute, and who are your prickly little friends here?" She tilted her head as she eyed, I'm assuming, Parcy and Ramona who must have moved to stand behind me at some point.

Either Parcy or Ramona, I'm not entirely sure which, made a noise in an obvious move to introduce them, but the girl, Ash, waved them off before it could really go anywhere.

"Actually, I don't care. I do however care about you. You're like me, aren't you? Not from around here? Impa's gonna be real interested in meeting you. Didn't expect more of us." She lazily sang punctuating most of the words by tapping the exposed skin on my chest from the heart cutout in my turtleneck crop top. I guess my outfit did stand out as being out of place, much like her own. I tried very hard not to flush at the extended amount of physical contact she was asserting, me having never really been an overly touchy person.

Ash swiftly turned around and sort of skipped, hopped maybe, over to the stairs leading up to what was now confirmed to be Impa's house. She turned back to look at us, me, in annoyance, "Well, are you coming?" she asked in clearly overdramatized exasperation.

"I don't think we should go." Parcy whispered from behind me, clearly hoping to not alert Ash.

"Yeah. I think she's right. Everything about that girl just screams dangerous." Ramona chimed in, uncharacteristically nervous for the usually infallibly brave girl.

They made a very good point, but I had already made up my mind. From the moment she mentioned both being from my world and knowing Impa, there wasn't really much of a choice to make as I saw it. "Sorry, girls. I think I need to go talk with her and Impa. If you'd like you can go hang out around town and I'll meet up with you later?" I apologetically offered.

"Not a chance."

"No way."

The both responded so swiftly and so vehemently that their answers really just merged into one. They shared a small smile before turning to face me again.

"There's no way we're leaving you alone with her." Parcy stated firmly.

"Yeah, besides, we need to be there in case she tries something. We'll show her who's boss." Ramona assured flexing her biceps in a comical show of confidence.

I smiled warmly at the two girls that, for reasons I couldn't imagine, had really adopted me as a friend over the past few days.

"Oh my god! Come on already!" Ash shouted from behind us. Forgetting the gratitude I was undoubtedly going to muddle my way through, I spun around to look at the clearly impatient girl behind me.

Ash was slouched dramatically knees bent inwards and arms hanging limp down her sides. In that moment I really had a hard time thinking of her as dangerous anymore. Looking at her now, she really just seemed like another edgy Goth girl that I had met countless times in countless schools.

"Alright, we're coming!" I called out to Ash confidently.

We sat rather awkwardly in a small sitting room waiting for Impa. The building was very clearly Japanese, complete with sliding paper screen doors and all, which despite the vastly different layout from the game, did give off a feeling of familiarity. The four of us sat on pillows around a low square table, Ramona, Parcy, and Myself on one side and Ash across from us stretched out to be on top of all three pillows on her side.

A man, who introduced himself as Titus, had come in and served us tea before quickly excusing himself. I hadn't really had any time to speak with him but it was easy to tell, even from just a glance, that he was Sheikah. His stark white hair, ruby red eyes, and dark tan skin had been a big give away, but it had to be the large Sheikah eye painted on his forehead and down his nose that was the most telling.

Ash hadn't said much besides the, "Impa will be down in a sec." that she had announced when she rejoined us in the siting room. She just stretched out and lazily watched us, the Cheshire grin ever present.

"Well, I'm bored. There shouldn't be any problem asking questions Impa wouldn't really understand while she not here right? So, Lazarie, where are you from? Also is that your real name or are you like a big fan of Steven Universe?" Ash finally broke the silence, the tone of voice and way she sung my name being a bit too sharp to be considered pleasant.

"Oh, well I grew up in America but I was born in France. Um, yes it is my real name, and while I did really enjoy Steven Universe, no that's not where it came from. It's actually not even derived from the lapis lazuli stone, but a French form of Lazarus, just with an i added to 'make it more feminine" or whatever." I rambled a bit. Talking to strangers always was a bit nerve racking but Ash was especially so, if nothing else because everything she said felt like there was something sinister just below the surface. She really gave off cute but psycho kind of vibes and I wasn't really sure how to respond to it.

"Oh. That's boring. But, I guess that explains the weird accent." She rolls her eyes and slumps further down, as if the weight of her boredom was as inescapable as gravity, slowly flattening her to the ground.

Wait.

"Accent?" No one had mentioned that I had an accent here before.

"Yeah. You don't sound like you're French, but you also don't sound like you're American just kind of a bunch of accents put together. But, in a way it's better, English speakers always sound so super harsh to me. Glad I don't have to deal with that." She droned out sounding drunk with boredom.

"Do- Do you not speak English? Oh man. Of course. It's not like these games were exclusively in English. I don't know why I didn't think about this before! And, with our sudden ability to speak and read Hylian, maybe it was more than just a way to make it easier to understand the world. A way that people from all over our world could communicate as well!" I rambled excitedly, only to be interrupted by Ash.

"Of course you didn't think that non English speakers would exist, you just said that you grew up in America." She scoffed with another very exaggerated roll of her eyes.

"You know, that's fair," I concede, "So where are you from? I can't quite place you accent either, but I just thought it was because of the difference from hearing English or French to Hylian. Are you also bilingual?" I questioned excited at this new development.

"God, you're like an overeager little puppy, aren't you. Should'a figured you'd be a big ol' nerd. Boring. But, if you have to know, I'm Mexican/Japanese. But I don't want any…Gringo Otaku shit from you. If you a Weeb I'm out." She sharply accused.

My brain took a second to really comprehend her last couple sentences. While I absolutely knew all of the words she used, having access to the internet and any kind of social media ensured that, it was another thing entirely to hear someone seamless string about four different languages together so comprehensively.

"I- I'm not a Weeb. That kind of fetishization is pretty gross to be real honest. I was studying to be an Archaeologist, though. So like, I might be a nerd, but I'll try to not be a bother?" I ended up asking instead of stating like I had planned.

"Alright. That's fine I guess. But just so you know, you're on thin fucking ice. One slip up and I'll fucking gut you." She threatened with no real indication of humor, setting the two girls beside me on edge. I'm certain they were completely lost as to what we were talking about but they knew a threat when they saw one.

"It's cool. Honestly, if I suddenly started acting like a Weeb, I think it would be pretty justified for you to just end me on the spot." I joked throwing in a double finger guns and a wink to try and defuse the situation.

It seemed to work when Ash burst out cackling. "Alright, Nerdlord. You can fucking hang. Like, threat still stands but don't worry I'll definitely put you out of your misery should the time come." Ash said cackling the whole way through.

"Ashford, there will be no threats to guests of my household." Came the stern admonishment from the doorway.

Snapping my head to face the newcomer, I was pretty surprised. In the doorway was a very tall woman, probably taller than me, who was also built like a brick house. She was intensely muscular, the skin tight Sheikah armor not hiding a single curve, and when paired with the distinctive paint around her eye and tight topknot her silvery white undercut hair was pulled into made her a clear authority figure. It also made my little gay heart beat incredibly fast. Hyrule was a dangerous place for bisexuals it seemed.

She confidently strode in the room lightly kicking Ash's feet to force her to move and sit like a normal person. She resolutely ignored Ash's cries of, "They aren't you're guests!" and, "Hey! Aren't I your guest, too! Where's your kindness towards me?"

"Oh? If you're a guest, does that mean you plan on leaving sometime soon?" The gentle but still humorous tone came from the door. I hadn't noticed before, but another woman stood in the doorway. She stood in quite striking contrast to the other woman. Though the both of them were clearly in their 40s, the seemed to wear it quite differently. This woman was much shorter, but also much bigger and softer than the first. She was wearing such light and flowing fabrics that she almost seemed ethereal. Her pitch-black hair and endless amounts of creamy pale skin also added to the effect. Though most surprising were the round human ears that kept some of her hair out of her face.

So I guess everyone is stupidly beautiful in Hyrule. Good to know. I'm pretty sure this is how my life ends. Sitting in a room with a group of too pretty women. My hearts gonna mcfucking give out any second now I know it.

"Hibiki. That's mean! Don't kick me out! You love me! Obviously, this little Goth bird has gotta leave the nest some time. But I never expected You, the nice mom, to kick me out!" Ash complained dramatically with a feigned look of devastation to her face.

"Ashford, enough. I apologize for her antics. While we have talked through this multiple times in the past several days since she arrived here, it seems she is keen to not 'play nice' as she so eloquently put it." The first woman spoke as both she and her companion sat on the cushions next to Ash, who was petulantly sticking out her tongue. "I apologize for the rude welcome you were given. I hope you are not too offended. I am Impa, head of this house, the Sheikah clan, and of Kakariko Village." She placed a fist over her heart as she gave us a slight bow before gesturing to the woman beside her, "This is my wife, Hibiki." Hibiki primly bowed in greeting as well.

Ramona, Parcy, and I sat up a bit straighter at the introduction before responding with our names in turn and bowing respectfully. I trembled a bit as I bowed, but for once not with anxiety. I was filled to the brim with a wonderful warm emotion that anyone who is not straight suddenly feels when they find out that they're in a room full of people who are also not straight. Safety. I suppose that was the best way to describe it.

"So, Lazarie was it? I assume Ashford was not simply joking around when she said that you are another traveller from her world." She paused waiting for me to confirm or deny the statement. Once I eagerly nodded my affirmation she continued, "Then this is a very interesting situation. When Ashford described the process required to travel here, the so-called Eclipse Game, I thought it might have been a blessing from the Goddesses to send us someone in our time of need. I was certain that this had to be related to the ancient prophecy, though I was not sure how. Now, I'm left to wonder. Have you met any other travellers so far? I'm curious to see how many of you there are."

"I didn't even know there were others until I met Ash. Though, I guess I shouldn't be surprised now that I think about it. The instructions for the Eclipse Game were pretty widespread, reaching potentially thousands of people, who knows how many actually decided to play it. But, I have to ask. What ancient prophecy are you talking about?" I try to answer as succinctly as possible despite my nerves. It felt similar to being in class and answering a question for one of my professors.

"I was not aware that the ritual was so well known. That could either be to Hyrule's fortune or to its detriment. I will admit, I am not very well informed on the specifics of the ritual or your world, since it is apparently rather painful to get any useful information from Ashford." She speculates ending with a rather exasperated glare towards Ash, who has crumpled into a pile with her arms and head resting on the table.

"I don't know a damn thing, I've never know a thing, I will never know a thing, and none of you are ever gonna make me know a thing, my dude." Ash says without picking her head up from the table.

With a rather fond looking roll of her eyes and a sweep of her hand, Impa continued on, "My point exactly. Moving on, to answer your question: There was a prophecy passed down by the Royal Family of Hyrule and the Sheikah who served them.

"Long ago, when the Kingdom of Hyrule was still young, the Royal Family was visited by a fortuneteller. They foretold of the destruction of Hyrule at the hands of Ganon. They were warned that Ganon would return his malice a never-ending plague on the land. They warned that one day far into the future, The Hero and the Princess would fail against Ganon's might and the realm would be left defenseless, without any way to seal his dark power.

"Unfortunately, the fortuneteller was not able to give any further information of instructions as they became weak and with as much abruptness as they appeared, vanished without a trace. They Royal Family, concerned for the ruin that would come, instructed the Sheikah Tribe to find a way to best protect Hyrule in preparation for that Day of Calamity.

"So the Sheikah set out, with their advanced talents in magic and technology, they constructed the Guardians, great beasts of unspeakable magic, who would protect the realms of Hyrule from the oncoming darkness. And, they constructed the Shrine of Resurrection, which in the time of Hyrule's greatest need, could be used to revive the Fallen Hero.

"The Kingdom was left only to wait for the fated day, but it did not come. Ages passed, and eventually the fortuneteller's warning faded to legend, then to myth. The location of the Guardians and the Shrine of Resurrection were eventually lost to time. Until, eventually the Prophecy was thought to be only fairytale, told by Matriarch to Matriarch, mother to daughter, as a way to impress upon them the importance of the role they played in the battle against Calamity Ganon.

"Tragically, our dear Queen never got the chance to tell these stories to the young princess. When Princess Zelda was merely six years of age, her mother very suddenly fell ill and died. Since she had not yet reach the age of seven, when, traditionally, the princesses are to begin learning of their birthright she did not receive any instruction from her mother, nor anyone else from her family we keen to the knowledge of the Queen. As her Nursemaid, I was then charged with assisting the young princess in coming into her birthright and preparing for Ganon to rise again.

"We faced many difficulties, but we never expected…" At this point Impa's calm façade broke. Her eyes squeezed shut and face tilted towards her wife. In that moment, there were no tears, no sounds, nothing that would be expected of such a deep grief. She just sat there her wife lightly touching her arm, and all of us, even Ash, seemed to feel the weight of her grief pressing us firmly into our seats. Distantly, I recognized the feeling of two hands lightly clenching the fabric of my pants. Quietly glancing at the girls beside me, I was really struck with the mirrored grief I saw on their faces. It made sense; this was their princess we were talking about. I'm sure it must be hard for them to hear about the struggle before the world went sideways.

Impa straightened in her seat, letting out a deep breath and seeming to pull herself together again, "I apologize for that," I open my mouth to reassure her there was no need to apologize but she continues on before I can, "As I was saying, We faced many difficulties in our endeavor to awaken the powers in the Princess. However, we ran out of time. The Calamity descended upon Hyrule starting at the castle. We were forced to face it with not enough preparation, and in result the Hero wielding the Blade of Evil's Bane was slain. In a desperate attempt to protect her people, Zelda gave her life to form a seal around the Calamity and trap it inside Hyrule Castle. It has been 10 years since that day.

"Every day since, I have noticed the Princess's Seal weakening, more and more Malice slipping through into the rest of the Kingdom. I had hoped with the sudden appearance of someone from another world, with extended knowledge of Hyrule and it's past, would possibly be a sign that maybe that Ancient Prophecy was finally coming to pass. That maybe the stories of the Shrine of Resurrection were truthful and I might get to see that precious girl's face, one more time." Impa finished strongly, although still clearly filled with grief she managed to get through the rest of the story no problem.

"Oh my god. This isn't Breath of the Wild…" I whisper in disbelief. My mind felt like it was racing, but that had to be the final nail in the coffin, the story was similar, but there were too many differences for it to actually be Breath of the Wild.

"What the hell? Of course it is? What other game would it be?" Ash piped up indignantly, finally coming out of her arm cocoon.

"I- well. I don't know. Maybe we aren't in any of the games or maybe we're in between some of them. But, that story just proves that even though this setting is so similar to Breath of the Wild, it can't be the same one, or if it is and the details from the game are left to way open to interpretation, then that still puts us here about 90 years too early for us to be in Breath of the Wild." I rapidly explain, both horrified and incredibly excited about this revelation.

Ash just squints her eyes at me suspiciously for a moment, "I don't know what that means and at this point I don't care."

"Well- I mean- It means that-" I fumble embarrassingly to try and explain myself in a better way.

"No. I don't care." Ash interrupts.

"But-" I try again.

"Ah! Bye! I don't care! You're not gonna make me care!" She yells as she promptly flings herself to her feet and out of the room.

I sit there silently for a while, both awed by her lack of care for social niceties and horrified by the rudeness she radiates because of it.

"Sorry, that's about how she usually reacts to people talking to her too much." Hibiki placates the three of us.

"That's alright-" I tried to reassure her, but I was at such a loss for words. What do you say when someone storms off like that? I'd certainly never really dealt with a situation like this before.

"If you would not mind, I would like to discuss what you were saying before Ashford stomped off. I cannot say I fully understood what you meant, but I assume it had to do with the stories of our world in yours, The Legends of Zelda, I believe? Breath of the Wild, was that one of those legends? I am afraid that Ashford has been rather vague on the subject." Impa questioned, obviously trying to direct our attention away from the outburst.

"Um. Yeah. It is. There are many stories, legends, about Hyrule and its Heroes. When I first got here a couple days ago, I noticed some inconsistencies with what I knew about the various legends and this world. All things considering, I'm not entirely sure what legend this is, if it is even one we have heard and not something in between or- Oh- Maybe in a different timeline? That could account for the differences…" I began strong but ended muttering my train of thought aloud to try and work through it.

"You are a curious girl. I would like to ask you the same thing I asked of Ashford when she first came here: If the Goddesses have indeed brought you here, will you do everything you can to aid Hyrule in its time of need?" Impa asked me in such a way that it truly felt like I was a character about to embark on a grand quest.

"Yeah- Yes- Of course." I stumble through to many affirmations under the pressure of her stare.

"Then I am grateful. If there is ever anything you need. Please, do not hesitate to come to me for assistance." Impa gave me a surprisingly warm smile before placing her fist over her heart and bowing, Hibiki next to her bowing as well.

Is this what it feels like to have adults, like actual adults compared to my 19 year old self who should not be considered an adult, be proud of you. I was both flushed with elation but also immediately terrified of disappointing them. I was quickly brought out of my stupor by to insistent hands yanking the fabric of my pants and cardigan around frantically.

"The Great Plateau" came the intense whisper screams out of Parcy and Ramona's mouths.

"Oh! Yes! There is actually something you might be able to help me with," I quickly inform an amused looking Impa and Hibiki, "I was curious if you knew any way to get up to the top of the Great Plateau, there is something up there that I really need- well, want- to see."

Impa looked surprised at the request but she seemed to give the request a decent bit of thought. As the seconds ticked by I felt dread build in my stomach. If the answer wasn't a simple thought for the current leader of the Sheikah Tribe, it probably meant I wasn't going to get an answer I wanted.

"No one has been able to scale the Great Plateau in many ages, but the Sheikah do have stories of our people making pilgrimages to the Great Plateau. I am not certain what I can do but I will look into it." Impa explained apologetically, "I can immediately send word for any information pertaining to it. How long will the three of you be in town?"

Parcy, Ramona, and I shared a wince, "Only until tomorrow." I said hesitantly, "But! I can come back. At latest, I could come back in a month when we need to do the milk run to Dueling Peaks. Who knows, though? I might be able to come back sooner if I can get my bearings sooner and start exploring a bit more and maybe find out a bit better of what story this is or even just what timeline it's on!" I prattled out trying to show that I was willing to make this work.

"Very well then, you work diligently to find out any information that might help us secure the fate of Hyrule, and I will search my sources and see if I can find a way to get you up onto the Great Plateau." Impa nodded firmly, satisfied that while maybe not the swiftest way we could do this, at least it would be efficient.

"Well, now that it's all settled, why don't we have some lunch? Have you three eaten yet? You're more than welcome to join us! Oh, and you said that you are staying the night in town, have you already reserved your rooms at the inn?" Hibiki joyfully asked, the dulcet tones of her voice making the words feel less intrusive and more soothing.

I looked at Parcy and Ramona for a clue on how to proceed, I was too exhausted from having so much attention on me for so long that I really just wanted someone else to make the executive decision for me. Thankfully, Ramona was fast on the uptake and answered for the group.

"Um, no we haven't eaten, yet. We had actually only just arrived when we ran into Ash. Yes, we would love to have lunch with you. And, no we haven't quite had time to get our arrangements for tonight." Ramona answered animatedly counting of the questions on her fingers as she addressed them.

Hibiki ended up convincing us to not only stay for lunch but for dinner as well. Then, since we were already spending so much time here, why should we go stay at the inn? Why not just stay in one of their extra rooms for free?

That was how we ended up in a room deep within the labyrinth of Impa's house, in borrowed sleeping yukata and munching on various sweets we had purchased.

"These are great but if I don't get something to drink, I think I'm going to go into a sugar coma." I complain playfully.

"Mm. Some tea would really hit the spot right now. I wonder if we could ask someone for any?" Parcy pondered aloud.

"Oh! Do you think you could read our fortunes! This feels like a perfect moment for it!" Ramona piped in excitedly, her infectious attitude ever present even from her languid sprawl on the ground, her red hair and blue yukata flowing across the ground in a picturesque way. Parcy chirped her agreement to the idea.

"Okay, well, if I'm gonna be expected to talk I'm definitely going to need something to drink." I acquiesce and push myself to a standing position, "I'm gonna go try and find someone to ask for some water or tea, BRB." I state before opening the door and stepping into the hallway.

"What does that mean?" Come the confused calls through the door.

I turn my head to tell them through the door, but the words die in my throat. Ash stands at the other end of the hallway. I hadn't seen her since she stormed of earlier in the day, having not shown up to either meal. She was dressed in what must have been her sleepwear, though I was hesitant to think that it would be comfortable enough to sleep in.

I'm not gonna lie, she kinda looked like one of those "sexy ninja" anime characters, what with the black loosely tied yukata, the leather belt that acted as a choker necklace and the top to her black mesh top, and the fishnets still covering her legs. She gave off way too much of a dominatrix air to be accidental.

"Hi." I say quietly, unsure if she was still angry at me and desperately fighting the urge to run away from any kind of social conflict.

"Yo." Came her bored response.

"Um. Do you happen to know where I could get some water or tea for us? We're planning on doing so Tarot readings and my mouth feels a little like glue from all the sweets we've been eating. Do you like Tarot? Do you want to join us?" It was like I suddenly blacked out and my mouth took over before my brain could even begin to control it. I was instantly filled with dread once I finished speaking.

Why the fuck did I just invite someone who obviously dislikes me to something that's supposed to be fun! Well, she probably won't say yes so it's fine right?

"Tarot? Sure. That sounds cool." She responds lazily still not looking super interested.

Fuck. What do I do now-

"Yo Titus!" Ash suddenly yells startling me.

Suddenly, the large stoic man was also in the hallway, "Miss Ash. There is no need to yell at this hour. How may I be of assistance?" He admonished blandly.

"Can we get some tea up in this bitch?" Ash asks gesturing in the direction of either the room behind me or in fact myself, I wasn't entirely sure which.

I was awed once again at her level of confidence. They way she dressed and the way she spoke were so confident and uncaring of any kind of consequence. It was honestly enviable, her ability to be comfortable in a strange place and time like this.

"I will bring some at once, Miss Ash." Titus nodded at Ash and I in turn before leaving the hallway.

We stood there for a second while I came to terms with the fact that I had not only invited her to hang out, but that she accepted. She lazily raised an eyebrow at me before motioning to the door behind me in annoyance.

I snap to and swiftly turn and open the door. Ramona and Parcy both look at my tense posture and awkward smile with hesitance. By the tense atmosphere inside the room, they definitely heard every single thing that had happened outside. I entered the room in small robotic steps trying desperately to come up with a way to get out of the oncoming disaster of my own making. Ash eventually got impatient with my pace however and feeling her hand press against the small of my back I was quickly shoved fully into the room.

The ensuing chaos was difficult for me to follow. One second I was stepping into the room, the next I was sprawled across the floor. Parcy had moved quickly to catch my head before it smacked into the ground. But the most confusing was the fact that Ash hadn't simply pushed me, she had also gone sprawling with me. So now we were on the ground, a mass of tangled limbs, my head being held up by Parcy and Ash's landing firmly on Ramona's back.

There was a moment of heavy silence before Ash's loud cackling laughter broke the spell hanging over us. Trying to untangle ourselves without injuring anyone was a struggle that rivaled any childhood game of twister, it probably didn't help that Ash's laughter was incredibly infectious and by the time we were all separated we were to out of breath to say anything.

Several minutes, a tea delivery and service, and many bouts of chuckling later, we were finally set up to begin my readings. Thankfully the tension from before was cut down immensely and despite the rocky introduction this morning, everyone seemed to be existing smoothly together.

"So how does this work? I've never actually done one of these in person before, only ever in video games, so like, I don't think those count." Ash asked from the other side of the large cloth I had spread out across the floor to place my cards on.

I smiled warmly as I pulled out my deck, the candlelight around us glinting of the gilded edges softly. As I began to gently shuffle the cards I explained how we were going to start, "Well, real Tarot is pretty different than what most games depict so yeah that doesn't usually count. As you can see, I'm shuffling the deck right now. Once I've done that, we can do a couple of different things. It depends on if you have a specific question you want answered, a type of reading you'd like, or just want to see what the cards want to tell you themselves."

I placed the thoroughly shuffled deck in the center of the cloth between us and looked at Ash patiently.

She wiggled her jaw around while she made up her mind, "I think, I'll just let it tell me something then? That kind sounds stupid but like magic is real so I guess whatever yeah?" Ash said with a visible nonchalance, but for some reason she seemed rather nervous about it. Almost like she was embarrassed. I shrugged it off though and began the next steps.

Spreading the cards in a line from right to left so they were on display between us, the blue and black impressionist styled backs of the cards each with a single eye in the center staring up at us indifferently, I began, "Alright, I want you to pick 3 cards. Which ever cards call to you the most. It doesn't need to be world shaking or anything, just three cards that catch your eye for one reason or another. Just pick three and keep the face down on the cloth." I made sure to keep my tone gentle and understanding, knowing that a lot of people can get stressed out by not knowing what a card calling to them feels like.

Ash nods her head at my instructions before leaning a bit forward to bring her face closer to the cards. She seems to realize belatedly that she looks too focused on this an no longer nonchalant because she quickly forces a lazy expression on her face and loosens her posture. She eventually pulls three cards out of the line up and I gently collect the rest of the deck into an orderly stack and place them on the corner of the cloth to my left. Focusing on the three cards she pulled I moved them to be in the center of the cloth and perfectly side by side.

"Alright, does this feel correct or do any of the cards need to change position or be flipped around?" I ask motioning for her to take a closer look at them before I began reading them.

"No. They're okay." She says with just a hint of uncertainty but willing to stick it out.

I nodded before turning the left most card over.

"The Two of Pentacles, reversed." I announce.

Normally the Two of pentacles represents someone who is well balanced, the dancing juggler with their many balls in the air, but this is reversed so, someone who's overwhelmed… unbalanced… Oh.

"You've felt lost for a long time now. They are so many options so many possibilities that you feel like you can't take any of them. You feel like you are supposed to know where you belong by now but you can't seem to find the correct rhythm." I words come out of my mouth almost on their own and while I hadn't thought of them before hand, they felt right as I said them. Judging by the wide eyes and held breath I figured I was on the right path.

I flipped the middle card.

"The Knight of Swords, upright." I smile not even needing a moment to ponder the meaning of it, "You are incredibly strong willed and quick to act. Hesitance has never suited you before, why have you been relying on it now?" The room surrounding was stifled and still.

I flipped the final card.

"The Devil, upright." I frown, that's strange. Normally the Devil represents failure, controversy, disaster, addiction, or other things like that, but that's not the feeling I was getting from this card at all. "The Devil speaks of something tormenting you, a cage built around you. But you know that, you know what's holding you down. Oh! Oh, you're in a prison of your own creation. Whatever obstacle you had that has previously made it impossible to find your place, to find your balance, it's gone now. Don't let what the past has done to you dictate your future. You know who you are; you know what you can do. No one can pass judgment of you if you don't let them." Yet again, I speak words that don't entirely feel like they're my own, after all these years I still get surprised at how the words always just seem to appear on my tongue.

Ash is quiet for a while after I finish; none of us make any noise in anticipation.

"Shit, just fucking drag me then." Ash moaned while dragging her hand through she choppy green and yellow bangs. Flopping backwards she laid on the floor arms spread out and legs still crossed over one another. We laughed at her grumbling while I picked up the cards and began shuffling the deck to prep for the next round.

Later that night, after a few more readings, many more cups of tea, and too many baked goods, I found myself sitting on the engawa veranda surrounding the house. I take in a deep breath of crisp mountain air, hoping it will seep into my being and clear the heady, post reading haze that fills me anytime I read multiple people's fortunes.

I hear the slide of the door from behind me. To my surprise it was Ash that stepped out to join me. She closed the door behind her and sat with her back pressed against the wall behind me. I turn and prop one of my legs up onto the wooden flooring so I can face her.

She lounged behind me a small black leather satchel placed securely in her lap. The many studs and enamel pins decorating a flashing sign that it must have come with her from home. I placed my hand on top of my ever-present star purse at the sight. Funnily enough it was this reminder of home above all else that really gave me a sense of camaraderie with the other girl. Right now, for all I know, she could be the only other person in Hyrule from home. The only other person who knew almost exactly what I was going through. And true, there could be others, but we didn't know that for sure yet.

"You know, for a nerd, you're not that bad." Ash said her manic grin toned down to a smooth lazier looking smile.

"Oh? That's nice to hear." I offer quietly, not wanting to break the soothing spell that the night has casted over us.

"Yeah. You don't talk like most nerd I've met, like you all big and important because you're smarter than everyone else. Wimpy little assholes that think the world should bend over at any moment and let them shove their smarts right up their ass. I don't really understand any of the shit that's going on here, or what you were trying to say earlier about this not being Breath of the Wild, or whatever. But, I don't really care about that. God this stupid. What I fucking mean is, I can't do all that detective shit but you know if you ever need help with like- I don't know- Punching? You can come to me. Or whatever." Ash was blushing and refusing to make eye contact by the end of her little speech, but it warmed my heart all the same. She continued in a much smaller voice before I could respond, "Did you really mean all that stuff?"

It took me a second to figure out what she was talking about, "What I said? In the reading you mean? Well, I don't really pick what's said in those. I just do my best to listen to what the cards are saying. But, I believe them. I've only known you for an afternoon and I'm already pretty sure you have enough determination to power a small country." I smile at her hoping to convey how sincerely I felt about it.

I saw her face flush again before she could cover it with her hands. I chuckled but decided to take pity on her.

"So, what object was your 'Obsession' in the Eclipse Game?" I have to admit I was pretty curious if hers turned into the real item as well, or if she even had a Zelda related item at all.

She looked at me before pulling a long wooden box out of her bag. It was maybe a foot long but very skinny; whatever was inside would have had to be small. The top of the box could be slid along a groove until it was pulled free. Once opened she turned it to face me and sitting neatly on a plush velvet pillow was the Wind Waker. I couldn't stop the surprised laughter that erupted at the sight of it.

I hurriedly dug through my purse before pulling out the velvet pouch I kept my treasure in. Pulling out the Ocarina of Time to hold up in the dim mixture of candlelight and starlight felt almost surreal. Ash's Cheshire grin was back, looking just as manic as it had when I first saw it this morning, but now it no longer had that same edge of danger to it. No, I suppose that's not right. It was clearly the same grin, but now I had context. Now, I didn't feel that same threatening edge, because now there's common ground. She's not an adversary. She's an ally.

"Of fucking course you have the Ocarina of Time." She cackled.

"Well, you have the Wind Waker! I wonder if it's a coincidence that we both have musical instruments!" I tease back filled with more joy than I really felt necessary.

"Hey, it's fucking rad- Wait. Wind Waker? What the fuck is that? This is the Baton of Winds." Ash blurted out in confusion.

"Well, yeah. Oh. Right, you don't speak English. That's the English name for it. The Baton of Winds is the original Japanese name of the game, yeah?" I explain.

"That's fucking dumb sounding." Ash said in a deadpan.

"You're not wrong." Was the only reply I could think of.

"Uh yeah. Of course I'm right. Besides, the Baton of Winds is the best fucking Zelda game. The combat is great. The puzzles don't take forever. And, it's cute as hell. Everyone is just a chubby little baby. Fucking love that cute shit." Ash stated firmly.

"Okay, fair. My favorite is Ocarina and Majora though. They were the first ones I played and they mean a lot to me." I said hoping I didn't sound to mushy about it.

"If you like them so much why don't you marry them?" Ash dramatically teased me with over the top kissing noises and everything.

"Maybe I will! You don't know me!" I came back just a strong on the dramatics.

We couldn't take it anymore and ended up laughing for far too long at far too stupid of jokes, but eventually we calmed down and caught our breath.

"Yeah, alright," Ash began, "You the type of white girl I can fuck with. But, just know I'm very serious when I say that if you turn out to be a Weeb I'm gonna gut you." She emphasized her point by making stabbing motions in my direction.

I found that I didn't really care if that was a serious threat, and I was a bit suspicious that it was.

"That's alright. I'll let you." I giggled out comfortably.

I was sad to leave Kakariko the next day, but I knew it wouldn't be too long before I got to come back, even if I had to do it alone. Ramona, Parcy, and I set of a bit after midday for the slow trek down the mountain. The next day and a half passed smoothly, with our stop at the Dueling Peaks Stable to sleep and collect the now empty wagon being the largest break from travelling. With no trouble on the road and only a short stop for lunch we managed to make it back to Lon Lon Ranch a decent bit of time before sundown.

We were putting the horses away in the barn in a comfortable silence when we heard voices from outside.

"Oh, what happened to your hair? Here let me fix it. It's partly so weirdly it looks stupid, hold on." A feminine voice warmly chastised her companion.

We couldn't really hear the response, but Ramona perked up.

"Oh? I don't recognize that voice. Maybe we have some new guests tonight? It's been a while since we've seen a new face out here." She whispered excitedly.

"Well, I for one have met enough new people for one trip. I'm going to go eat and then sleep. Have fun." Parcy groused before heading out of the barn the opposite direction of the voice and towards the main tent.

Ramona looked at me with so much hope that I really didn't have the heart to turn her down. I gather my tired limbs and prepared to follow Ramona towards the newcomers. I had not learned my lesson on the ride back and was back in my outfit from home. But despite the ache consuming my lower body, I followed Ramona out of the barn.

We didn't even have to fully pass through the doorway before we spotted the two new comers. In the late afternoon light it was nearly impossible to miss the eye-catching pair.

The girl was, as what we over heard her talking about suggested, smiling and messing with her companion's bangs, fluttering them around in front of his face. She was small; it was pretty easy to tell even from a distance that she was probably a foot shorter than me and incredibly petite. Her hair was this wonderful mixture of pale blues and purples that made it almost look iridescent.

We must have made some noise coming out of the barn because the pair turned to look at us almost immediately. The changed angle made everything about the girl so much more surreal, Her ghostly pale skin, her cute little button nose, and her round human ears. The biggest nail in the coffin however was the clearly modern clothing she was sporting. An all black snapback with tiny little horns, skinny jeans, stripped shirt underneath a flannel, and the sneaker clad feet made an unmistakable beacon of otherness.

My heart fluttered, she was very pretty.

In a daze, I shifted my gaze towards her companion. The fluttering stopped dead in its tracks.

"Oh Lazarie look! Another Alien!" Ramona grasped my arm excitedly.

I wanted to respond to her in excitement. Meeting to other travellers in such a short period of time was exciting. But, I couldn't really process any of that. The only thing going through my head was one word. One name.

Link.

_Notes:_

_Wow. This turned out to be a doozy of a chapter huh? But! I was so excited to really get into this! Thanks so much for reading you guys. Please leave a review to let me know what you guys think! I didn't get any reviews on this last chapter so anything would be really nice!_

_Thanks._


	5. Good Grief

A Hyrule Historian

Chapter V

Good Grief

There was no mistaking him, even in the plain off white shirt and trousers outfit, that were very reminiscent of the begging of Breath of the Wild. Strangely, he looked both exactly like I thought he would, and nothing at all as I'd expected, if that made any sense. While he was much taller than his companion, he was still a good deal shorter than me. His tan skin and piercing blue eyes were a unique combo when paired with his incredibly Japanese features. Most surprising, I think, was the fact that his blond hair was a specific shade of yellow that didn't look like a naturally occurring blond but one that was almost exclusively synonymous with someone who has bleached their naturally very dark hair. But, even if there had been any doubt about his identity, it was completely blown away by the Sheikah Slate resting sturdily on his hip.

Ramona pulled me excitedly up to the pair, before I could even convince my brain that it should maybe restart my breathing functions, she jumped into introductions, "Hello, Welcome to Lon Lon Ranch! I'm Ramona and this is my friend Lazarie. We function as both an inn and stable if you have any need for that! What are your names?"

The way Ramona just blasted through that sales pitch spoke volumes of her upbringing on the ranch. The way she kept excitedly looking from me to the other girl and back spoke volumes as to her excitement at… I'm not particularly sure, a new friend, maybe? But, I couldn't blame her, really. This was the second person from my world that we met in such a short period of time, so it was kind of exciting. I wonder what item she has? Part of me hopes it is another instrument, judging by the large backpack she's wearing it could be almost anything.

"Hello. I'm Link, and this is Michiko." The boy introduced quietly but warmly, "It's nice to me you. Do you both work here?"

"It's nice to meet both of you. Actually, I work here but Lazarie doesn't. She's just been staying with us since she got here. So, Michiko, are you also an alien? Like Lazarie? Wait, did you say your name was Link? Like from the stories?" Ramona's rapid fire were a bit hard to follow, as they were addressed to different people and so on top of one another no one was really sure who was supposed to answer.

Gauging the incredibly confused look from Link and the unreadable pinched expression from Michiko, I figured it'd be best for me to answer the only question directed at me, the last one.

"Um, yeah. Like from the stories." I nervously confirmed before turning to face Michiko, who was nervously fidgeting and rapidly looking between Link and us. "Sorry, the alien thing is a joke. But, you are right? Like me? Another person from our world? A Legend of Zelda fan?" I clarify in hopes that it helps her understand. This was obviously that this was the first bit of evidence that there were others like her, so she was probably pretty overwhelmed with all the new information. Heaven knows, I'm still feeling that way after meeting Ash.

Michiko flinches at my statement, her already pale skin loosing even more of its color and her pale eyes widening in what looked like panic. "I don't know what you're talking about. But, we're very busy, so we should go." Came her hurried response. She had a clear West Coast American accent, with maybe a tinge of something else that I couldn't begin to guess at. She seemed to really be uncomfortable though.

"Oh, um. I'm sorry. I just assumed. I meant another player of the Eclipse Game?" I tried heart racing. I had assumed because both Ash and I had items from Legend of Zelda as our "Obsessions" that it had something to do with us ending up here. Maybe, it didn't matter what item you had? Maybe the whole purpose of the game was to get to Hyrule? Oh man, I can't imagine what it would be like for someone who has absolutely no context on the place they were magically transported to.

My answer only seemed to upset her further, "I said I don't know what you're talking about. Link, let's go." She snapped before grabbing the now very confused Link's hand.

"Michiko, we just got here, and it's almost nighttime. We should probably wait until morning before travelling." He stated softly, in almost a questioning manner.

"We have to get to Kakariko Village! Link, we don't have any time to waste. This is of the utmost importance, we can't delay." Michiko started of rather angrily before seeming to remember she was talking to Link and her tone quickly shifted to a more nurturing tone, almost as if she was speaking to a young child. She also adopted and incredibly forced fake British accent.

I was kind of stricken with the ostentatious display. So, she obviously knew about Legend of Zelda. Did she really not know how she got here? Was she just lying? What the fuck is up with the fake accent? I spared a quick glance to Ramona to see if maybe she had a better understanding of the situation. By her pinched brow, I assumed she was just as confused.

"Oh, I guess if it's that important…" Link trailed off uncertainly, "I'm sorry, it looks like we will need to leave now, but I'm sure we'll come back some other time. If there's anything you need help with, or something you need help finding. We'd be more than happy to help out." Link offered.

"Oh, um. Thanks but I'm fine." I wave it off, secretly just the littlest bit happy that a Link, maybe not the one from my childhood but still, was kind enough to talk to me and even try and get in a fetch quest while he was at it. I know this is real and not a game anymore, but I couldn't help but feel just a little bit of comfort that some things still transfer over.

"See? She's fine. They don't need our help to continue their inconsequential little lives. Now, let's go. We have more important things to do than hang around some E-girl and her hillbilly friend." Michiko interrupted with a not so small dose of snide superiority.

That warm comfort disappeared very quickly. In it's place I had two warring factions. On one side I had the "Punch Her in The Face" team and the other was the "Runaway From Uncomfortable Situations" team. Looking back at the condescending glare from what had to be a 14-year-old infant, I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

Don't throw hands at a child.

I didn't know what this girl's deal with, and honestly I didn't care. I was both physically and emotionally exhausted from our trip and I just wanted to get away from this disaster of an introduction. I may be only 19 but I am far too old for this I'm not like other girls kind of shit.

Because that's what this was, wasn't it? With that thought in my brain, everything made a bit more sense. Here we have a young teen girl, her hipster glasses, fake accent, and oversized backpack basically screaming "I'm an Intellectual unlike all those other silly girls" getting to meet a boy she undoubtedly has a gigantic crush on. So now she's getting territorial with potentially the first girls she's seen since meeting him, afraid that someone gonna "steal her boyfriend" or whatever.

Nope. I'm not touching any of that.

I plaster on a smile and wave them off, pressing my other hand to Ramona's shoulder to try and convey that it was best to just let it go. We watched them leave the ranch and consequently our line of sight before finally relaxing.

"That was…" Ramona started after a brief period of silence, but trailed off not entirely sure how to describe what just happened.

"Yeah." I breathe out in agreement.

"I'm sorry." Ramona lightly grasps my hand, her voice full of genuine sorrow.

"What why?" I quickly make eye contact with her. What does she have to be sorry about? She didn't do anything wrong.

"It's just that went pretty badly…" She hesitantly pointed out.

I waited for a beat for her to continue, but when she still just looked at me expectantly I finally spoke up, "Well, yeah. But that wasn't your fault. Why should you be sorry?"

"No, I know that it's not my fault. I'm just sorry because that was not a great way to first meet someone, and he's your Link, right?" She uses both of her hands to hold mine as if to help support me through any kind of emotional response I would have to it.

"Oh. Nah, I'm okay. Also he's not really. Like I don't know him at all. Yeah he's this version of the hero, but he's not mine in any sense. If anything he's a Link, they're all different people. I do feel a bit bad for him. I'm not sure what that girl's deal is but it seems messy as hell." I smile trying to convey the fact that I really was okay, and I was. I'm sure if this had turned out to be Ocarina of Time I would have been sad, but that wasn't the Link that I grew up with. Hell, if he's any Link any of us have seen before, he's gotta be Breath of the Wild, the Sheikah Slate kind of pointed to that.

Maybe this is just an alternate timeline version of it. That might account for the missing Sheikah Technology, and I could really count them as missing now. Even with Link now awake and off the Great Plateau, there were no shrines, no towers anywhere in sight.

I guess this settled it. Michiko and Link were headed to Impa, and therefore towards a quest to save Hyrule. I won't be any use to that, but I could still get info about Hyrule. If I can find any kind of historical record I might be able to piece together which timeline we're in and therefore maybe some helpful info on what needs to be done.

I'm Lazarie Baptiste, future Archaeologist, and I'm going to figure out where the fuck I am on Hyrule's garbage timeline.

"Hey Ramona? I need a sword."

So apparently Parcy had a stash of swords underneath her bed.

Apparently, in order to get Parcy to give you one of said swords you had to beg a lot and promise treasure from some future adventure you are going to have.

Apparently, Parcy and Ramona are bad friends who like to sit and laugh at their poor friend who has never held a sword in her life before try to figure out how to properly swing one.

Apparently, Parcy and Ramona can eat my entire ass.

I was only a little grumpy. So it turns out that there was more to using a sword than just picking one up and swinging it. I have also learned that two people yelling vague advice at you instead of making any effort to show you what you should be doing is in fact not very helpful at all.

I had spent most of the morning after the disastrous meeting begging Parcy to give me a sword, at one point literally throwing myself at her feet in a fit of dramatics. With that accomplished I figured the afternoon would be best served with me trying to figure out how to hold the thing.

It was not going well.

I eventually gave up, when I realized my rude terrible friends were just going to continue to laugh at me and not actually help. To spite them I decided to spend the rest of the afternoon ignoring them and spending some quality time with Epona.

I spent a couple hours giving Epona apples or carrots, brushing her, and playing her different songs on the Ocarina of Time. I hadn't worked up the nerve to try playing any of the other songs from the game on it yet, but I was having fun playing the tunes from home. And if I threw in Epona's song every now and then to make me feel a little loved by her, then that was no one's business but my own. But after those couple of hours, Epona seemed to really want to be left to graze and run around with the other horses so I decided to take a break and get out of the sun.

I had only just sequestered myself into Ramona's room to get some writing done when the door was thrown open abruptly, startling me violently.

"You're hero is here." Ramona announced dramatically.

"Weird flex, but okay." I deadpanned.

"What does that mean?" Ramona asked more than a bit exasperated.

"Um. Just that that was a weird way to announce you entrance, but it's not untrue, you did save me after all, so like good for you." By the end my statement ends up sounding more like a question than I meant it to.

"What? No, not me. You're Hero. He's here. He came back. But now he's just sitting sadly in the barn, all alone, that mean pretty girl isn't with him. I think something is wrong." She explained, looking at me expectantly.

"Shit! Did something happen? Is she okay? Why isn't he at Kakariko?" I ask rapidly trying to stand up from her bed at the same time.

"I don't know! I just saw him in the barn and ran straight here!" Ramona stated while grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the room and towards the barn.

"Wait you didn't ask? Did you literally just see him and run away? Ramona! That's not nice! Why didn't you talk to him?" I question incredulously.

"I figured it would be best if you talked to him." She waved off my concern as we approached the barn, "Okay he's in the go help him out."

"What?" I stumble as Ramona pushes me ahead. Turning back to her I gesture for her to come with, "Come on. What are you doing?"

She shakes her head as she walks backwards away from me, "You got this!" She whispers and gives me a double thumbs up before running away.

"Ramona? Ramona! Don't leave me! Ramona I don't know what to do! Please don't leave me alone!" I whisper scream towards her in panic, but it is to no avail. She is inside the main tent and out of sight before I can really do anything.

In panic I look between the open doors of the barn and the main tent, debating if I should also make a run for the tent. But, I know I can't do that. If Link is really upset and in there alone…

He may not be my Link, but I can't just abandon him. God, or I guess Goddesses, please don't let Michiko have died. I know I'm not a huge fan but like she doesn't deserve that.

I take another second to collect myself before hesitantly walking into the barn. Hylia help me.

It wasn't hard to find him once inside. Link sat slumped on top of a large hay bale at the other side of the barn. His back was pressed firmly against the wall and his knees where pulled up close so he could rest his forehead on them. I started heading back towards him slowly, desperately wracking my brain for literally anything to say in a situation like this.

What do people usually say in situations like this? Shit! I've never had to do this before!

Link must have heard my footsteps because he ended up raising his head to look at me long before I actually reached him. Thankfully, it looked like he wasn't crying, though that's not to say he hadn't been before, but the look on his face really did give of a strong sense of confusion and sadness.

He looks heartbroken.

It feels like a decade passes as I take the last few steps towards him, his eyes on me the whole time. I reach up to nervously play with the bobble attached to my velvet choker. An incredibly awkward moment of silence passes between the two of us.

"Hey… Buddy. How are you doing?" I wince at the incredibly awkward opening, my tone doing nothing to hide my discomfort.

He huffs a breathy broken laugh. "I'm okay. How are you?" his voice is quiet and unsettlingly hollow.

"I'm fine. Um… So, you're back very soon. Is there anything you need? Is everything okay?" It almost feels like pulling teeth trying to figure out the right words to say, and I'm entirely sure I am failing at that.

"Um, yeah, I…I'm fine. Just, a lot's happened today. I'm just trying to figure it out." He says quietly not meeting my eyes.

"Oh. Okay. I can leave you alone, then. Let me know if you need anything, okay?" I nod and seeing his in return turn around and make to get out of the barn.

I only make it a couple steps before I have to squeeze my eyes shut. Anxiety and guilt make my skin crawl and itch, like I was a snake in need of a good shedding.

"Or… If you'd like, I mean- If you wanted to talk about it. I'm not great at this stuff, but I could listen at least." I offered not opening my eyes or daring to move an inch.

There was a long pause, and for a second I thought that was it.

"Michiko was lying to me." Came the quiet response. I turn around to look at him. He is still not looking at me, but his legs have stretched out to lay in front of him on the hay bale.

"Okay," I nod as I slowly walk back to him. I hop up to sit on the edge of the hay bale, close to his outstretched legs, but far enough that we aren't touching. I continue softly, "What was she lying about?"

I immediately thought of the obviously fake accent.

"Everything. Who she is. Who I am. What's going on. Everything! I don't know if anything she said was the truth!" He got a bit more hysterical as he went along, clearly distressed.

"Hey, hey. Okay. It's okay. That sounds really upsetting. Why don't we start from the beginning? That might be easier." I ask trying to sound understanding and calming.

Link nodded before describing the events of the past few days. Weaving a tapestry of unfathomable lies.

So Link had only been awake for about four days now. He had woken up in the Shrine of Resurrection, not to Princess Zelda's Voice, but to Michiko's. True to the game, however he did wake up with absolutely no memories of who or where he was. Michiko told him that he was the Hero of Hyrule, he had been asleep for 100 years, and she had awoken him to save the land.

Now, Here's where shit gets fucked. Michiko told him that the Triforce Goddesses brought her here to help Link to save Hyrule. She also said that she is the reincarnation of Link's "True Love" and that she was imprisoned by a jealous Hylia to keep them apart. That Hylia reincarnated herself as Zelda and stole Michiko's Goddess Harp so she could steal Link away from her. She said that once the Triforce Goddesses learned of Hylia's cruelty they freed her and gave her back the Goddess Harp so she could take her rightful place by Link's side again. Apparently, Zelda found out about this, and in a last ditch effort to keep them apart, stole Link's Memories and planned to implant fake ones to make him that he was in love with her instead.

Link, with no memories and no reason not to trust the only person he knows and the only friend he had at the moment, believed her. My heart broke for him. Not only were these lies fucking bonkers, but he also literally had no one else to turn to. Apparently, along with the missing towers and shrines, no one else was up on the Great Plateau. No ghost of Kingsmas Past. And, it was far from over.

Apparently, they weren't allowed to enter the Temple of Time because that belonged to Hylia and going in there would notify the Goddess where they were, so the spent days trying to find a way off of the plateau. A few days in Michiko said she was going to search the Shrine of Resurrection again and she had to do it alone, so Link had to search through the woods in the meantime.

She came back with the Paraglider.

She told him that she had asked Nayru for guidance and she gifted her the Paraglider and told them to go to Kakariko Village. They had only just gotten off the plateau when we had met yesterday. It made a lot more sense why she was so panicked meet us.

She had apparently made him travel most of the night so they could get as far away from us as possible. The whole time he was trying to get information on the things we had said. What was The Legend of Zelda or the Eclipse Game? What did I mean when I had asked if she was from my world? What did I mean that he was Link from the stories? What was an E-girl or a hillbilly, for that matter? But, she just came up with more excuses. She didn't know what any of those meant, but if we like the traitor Zelda, then that meant that we must hate her and were trying to separate them.

They had ended up stopping at the Dueling Peaks stable and sleeping because they had travelled so much that they were ready to drop. I had a suspicion she only even agreed to it because there were no women at that stable.

There were up and on the road again at first light, which meant that they had reached Kakariko Village just this afternoon, only a few hours ago. Link said that Michiko was acting strange and irritated again, but she wouldn't tell him what was wrong. She just kept pushing to get to Impa's house and that they needed to speak to her immediately.

I'm really not sure what she was expecting to happen once she got there. How on earth, or in Hyrule in this case, she was planning on keeping this story going in the face of Impa? Unfortunately, we may never get to know what her plan was, because once they got to Impa's house and barged in uninvited and unannounced, they did not meet Impa. They met Ash.

I could hide a wince implication of the situation. Here we had this huge extravagant lie and not only was Michiko about to face another unexpected variable, that variable was someone who in a pleasant mood threatened to gut me. I almost didn't even need Link to explain what was about to happen. I could see the signs of a train wreck all too well.

Ash had immediately clocked Michiko as another person from our world and had started to complain loudly about how "this is what you get when a ritual game is posted in English" or something along those lines, before asking what the "Less Interesting White Girl" wanted. Which was confusing because while, yes Michiko did look very white passing, that didn't actually mean she was white. But, I guess by that logic that meant I was the more interesting white girl, which was a little flattering, but that was beside the point, right now.

Michiko had tried to deny any knowledge of what she was talking about and demand to speak to Impa, but this was Ash she was dealing with. Ash got mad in a "You come into My House, ask to see My Manager" kind of way. Ash told her not to pretend that she didn't arrive here by the Eclipse Game like the rest of us and to get her snapback wearing head out of her own ass. Link, poor thing, got concerned for his only friend and was ready to throw down. But, he saw this as a good opportunity to get some information on their supposed enemy. He asked Ash what the Eclipse Game was.

It was all downhill from there. Ash explained the Eclipse Game and then consequently The Legend of Zelda. She explained that Michiko was one of at least three players who made it through to this world from ours. Michiko tried to deny it, telling Link that this was just lie to break them apart, but Link asked why would Nayru tell them to come here if they couldn't trust the info that they were being given.

Ash lost it at the question. Apparently she laughed so hard she started crying and couldn't breath, but managed to get out that it was hilarious that he thought Nayru would just up and speak to some nobody.

Link, still believing in Michiko, tried to defend her. That she wasn't nobody, she was the incarnation of true love that the Goddesses had sent to help him. Ash gleefully told him that was a crock of shit. Ash was apparently incredibly happy to confirm to Link that everything Michiko had said was a lie. From the way Link spoke of it Ash was filled with malicious glee. Michiko started crying and pleading for Link to believe her, that the Goddess Harp was proof that she was telling the truth.

Ash laughed before pulling out the Baton of Winds and with a manic croon of, "Bitch, do you really think you're the only one who got a magical instrument from this?" the walls apparently closed in on Michiko, too tight for her to handle.

Link not knowing how to confront the fact that the only friend he had in the world, had been lying to him about everything. Not knowing what to do, or even who he was at that point, he ran. And, once he was far enough away from her, he used the Sheikah Slate to warp back here. Hoping that if she did try to find him, she wouldn't look here.

By the time Link had finished his story, I had already moved to lay down on the floor. It didn't matter that I had no idea what gross things had been on this floor before me because I needed to lay down after a story like that. Link had decided to join me but remained sitting up somewhere around my feet.

"Wow." I stated in disbelief. The roof of the barn held no answers for me so despite my desire otherwise, I tore my gaze away from it and down to Link's face. Telling the story did seem to help him ground himself a bit, his face no longer looked quite so hollow. Now he was just hurt, confused, and lost. And why wouldn't he be? He knew almost nothing, brain wiped completely clean from the Shrine of Resurrection, and everything he had been told since waking up was a lie.

"I- Wow. Okay, that's a lot to unpack. Yeah." I stumble trying to force any words out of my mouth. I push myself to actually sit up and look him in the eye. "I'm sorry that that happened. I'm also sorry that you had to hear all that from Ash."

"Thanks, but I feel like it's probably my own fault. Honestly, who would believe all that anyway? I should have known better." He demeaned himself.

"Hey, don't do that. It's not your fault she took advantage of you." I pressed gently.

"Isn't it? I never once questioned her. I just blindly followed what she told me." He shook his head, obviously embarrassed and overcritical of himself.

I paused for a second, "Well, in that case. I'm sorry, too. I should have stepped in. Instead I just let you leave. I didn't even try to figure out what was going on, even though I knew something wasn't right."

"What? No! It's not your fault! You had no way of knowing what she had been telling me. It's not your fault." He repeated vehemently.

"Then why is it yours?" I asked softly, "If I'm not at fault for her actions, why are you?"

We sit in silence for a while, neither of us really sure what to say at this point. How, do you help someone who's whole world just came shattering down, especially someone who you basically don't know anything about? An idea popped into my head suddenly. It might not help, but it was worth a try. I may not know this Link, but I do know a fair bit about many Links. And, if there is one thing the games have taught me, it's that Link's loves side quests. Hopefully, that holds true.

"Alright Mister Hero," I begin by energetically jumping up to my feet, "Well, I can't change the past, but I have a proposition for you. Yesterday you said if I needed anything at all I could ask you, right? Well, I've got a big one. I need to get up onto the Great Plateau, and so far I have come up empty handed in the hunt for a way up there. You and that snazzy little device you got, are the first real chance I've got to getting up there. So here's a quest for you. Get me up on to the Great Plateau so I can go see the Temple of Time. Now I warn you, I only have 20 Rupees to my name right now, so I can't really reward you. But! If you do this for me, I am certain I can beg Ramona to pack us some food, and to sweeten the deal, I promise I will answer any and all questions you have 100% truthfully. I have already commit to not trying to make up stories to the girls here, I don't think I'm gonna start trying to lie now. So what do you say, Hero?" I ask dramatic and overly positive as I could be.

There was a beat of silence.

"Only if you want to of course." I add on, panicking. I hope I didn't say the wrong thing.

Link smiles at me gratefully, "I think I'd like that."

_Notes:_

_Oh man, two chapters this week! I'm feeling so super productive! Ah man, I have been so looking forward to this chapter, but also dreading it because I am a conflict avoiding baby in real life. I'm really excited though, because this chapter marks the end of the introductory arc and now we are gonna really get into the meatier stuff._

_I'm also really excited because there is so much going on behind the scenes at this point that Lazarie has no actual context for._

_I'm trying to build to big things and I hope anyone reading this will enjoy them!_

_Please let me know what you guys are thinking!_

_Thanks._


	6. The Temple of Time

A Hyrule Historian

Chapter VI

The Temple of Time

"You changed clothes." Link remarked quietly once I rejoined him in the barn.

"Oh, yeah. These are the only clothes I actually own. The outfit from before actually belongs to the ranch." I explained with no small amount of embarrassment. I originally only planned to go beg some dinner off of Ramona half an hour ago after Link had agreed to take me up to the Great Plateau. She had excitedly agreed to pack something up for us when she found out I was getting to go up to the Great Plateau. The stew she was in the process of making wouldn't travel well, so she told me to give her about ten minutes and she would get something travel ready for us. So with that in mind, I ran back to her room and changed into my own clothes, a small part of me wanted to have my iconic™ look if I was going to go on any kind of an adventure. In hindsight, it probably looked like I was dressing up for a date.

Stupid and embarrassing could probably be my middle name at this point.

"Okay, so how does this work, exactly? In the story, the one with the Sheikah Slate, you only ever warp with it by yourself. Is it able to transport both of us?" I decide to just ignore the embarrassment. Besides, Link doesn't have any memories right now, maybe he won't even think of something like that. Regardless, I wanted to see the Temple of Time too badly for me to run away and avoid an embarrassing situation.

"It's pretty simple, we both just have to be holding onto it when I choose the location to warp to, then it will take us both." He explains brightly, holding the Sheikah Slate between us.

I nod at him before moving the basket to be looped around my elbow so I could firmly hold onto the Sheikah Slate with both hands. Link taps the screen a few times pulling up the familiar digital map and then zooming in on the Great Plateau area. He taps on an icon and it asks him to confirm that he would like to warp. He hits yes and I stop breathing in preparation for what is about to happen.

First, there is the sensation of gravity losing its hold on us. We begin to float upwards slowly, weightless in the hands of this magic. Before I can't really come to terms with this small amount of flight granted to us, we are suddenly, rapidly shifted through space. As instantaneous as our departure was, so too was our arrival. It almost felt like fainting, one second your fine, if not a little light headed from the magic taking ahold of you, and then the next your waking up somewhere else entirely. There's even the slight ringing in my ears that usually accompanies a fainting spell.

"Huh, I'm not sure what I expected that to feel like," I muse aloud, "but I guess that is actually not that far from it- Oh my god. Is that a Gossip Stone?" I cut myself off at the sight of the familiar stone monolith standing proudly amongst the ruins around it. With my attention drawn to the ruins around us, it was a swift hop in logic to understand where we were. This Gossip Stone, with its smiling Sheikah emblem face, was almost exactly where the first shrine was in the game. It was hard to tell if these ruins exactly match the ones from the game, seeing them in real life versus in the game could be playing tricks on me, but the makeshift lake that tokes up where the entry path to Castle Town once was and the visible edge of the gates that surround the plateau were a good enough marker to go by.

"Yeah, I think that's what Michiko called them, anyway." Link answered while hooking the Sheikah Slate to his belt, "They're how I teleport. Once I sync up their location with the slate I can return to them anytime I want."

"Oh man. I was wondering how you were gonna travel without the help of the towers or shrines. This makes sense though, since the Gossip Stones are also Sheikah technology. But, that still leaves us with the question of why they're missing. Since the Shrine of Resurrection and the Sheikah Slate are still here, why aren't the others. Maybe the monks didn't survive long enough to be here to guide you…" I rambled my thoughts aloud as I took a closer look at the Gossip Stone. In spite of their most memorable line from the games being the 'Boing Boing' sound effect they were very solid stone. It was also strange; despite the fact that there were no visible signs of wear on the stone it clearly looked ancient. It also gave of a strange otherworldly vibration, and I did mean that literally. Touching the stone left my hand with the same kind of numb feeling you get from holding a power tool for too long, a quickly fading numbness.

"Is your slate able to talk to them? In the stories, they know all sorts of rumors, hence the title Gossip Stones. It could be really help-" I turn back to Link to ask but end up cutting myself off, because up on the hill behind Link was the Temple of Time.

I couldn't breath. Even from this distance it was absolutely beautiful. Not even seeing the well in Kakariko measured up to this. Wait. I'm forgetting something about the well, aren't I? Whatever. It doesn't matter right now. Right now, all that matters is getting to the Temple of Time as fast as possible, I only have a couple hours before the sun sets and there is no artificial lighting up here. I won't be able to see anything then.

I took of in a sprint, not paying nearly enough attention to the uneven path and rubble around me. I tripped and stumbled a handful of times but I always managed to catch myself before falling. I tried to catalog as much of its appearance as I could while I ran.

One thing that was immediately apparent was the distinct lack of Guardians up here. While, yes, I had expected that, since they were by and large missing from the map as a whole, I hadn't expected the difference in the state of the temple because of that. No Guardians meant the Temple of Time was much more whole than it was in the game. Not to say, of course, that it wasn't in quite a state of disrepair, just not mostly collapsed like it had been in the game.

My lungs burned and my legs ached, still not over the pain from riding a horse for so long, but I refused to stop. There was nothing that was more motivating than seeing that building coming closer. The stairs leading up to the temple were killer on my thighs but where beautifully made, so much so that even in their very worn down state there were bits of intricate stonework that remained intact.

It would be obvious to anyone that these large ornate stairs were leading to somewhere incredibly important to Hyrule, even if they had no idea what the temple used to be. The Triforce and subsequently the Hylian Royal Crest were featured prominently in the remaining stonework. I tried to be as careful as possible while running up the steps, not wanting to damage any of the crumbling testament to a time long gone.

I refused to stop for even a second until I reached the top of the stairs, only then did I spend a moment to really take in the building in front of me. All three spires were still mostly intact. The building itself was almost completely covered in out of control ivy and climbing roses, and therefore it was nearly impossible to tell how much of the stone was actually intact. The windows and wooden door were completely gone, just a distant memory at this point.

My heart raced, both from the exertion of sprinting for so long, and from the immense excitement of the unknown. Because it was unknown at this point. Since there were no doors it would be easy to get inside the building, but once inside, what? This strange familiar world had so many unexpected twists that I really wasn't sure what was awaiting on the other side.

I shakily took a step forward, then another, and another. Slowly I made my way into the Temple of Time. The air around me was still, heavy in a way that was out of place in an elevation so high. Once I stepped into the threshold of the building it was almost as if the outside world ceased to exist. Any of the natural sounds of birds or bugs or even the wind seemed to just hush, as if the world itself knew not to disturb this holy place.

Immediately inside the doors there were two small rooms to either side the severely deteriorated wood gaping open enough to show that each held what used to be a staircase up into the towers above. All sorts of plant life had made its way in but strangely enough not cracking the well-worn stones. The building seemed to be miraculously intact, some otherworldly presence preserving it against the test of time.

I passed through the hallway as if in a trance, only to immediately be greeted by a grand staircase leading to the main part of the building. It wasn't an exceptionally tall, not even a full story, but it did make for a grand entrance into the sanctuary.

The building was just as magically intact as the entrance had looked. Small holes in the roof and large glassless windows made for ample light inside the well-fortified building, giving it an almost ethereal look. The sight of the sanctuary made my heart skitter to a stop.

Though dulled and worn from time, it was clearly the same place as Ocarina of Time's temple. Though much more ornate than the N64 game could have hope to present, it was unmistakable in layout. The warp pedestal decorated with both the medallion of light and the Triforce was mostly intact, with only the edges crumbling away. The checkerboard effect of the outer tiles was faded, nearly impossible to distinguish if you weren't looking for it. Large stone columns evenly spaced on either side of the building standing strong and proud despite the obvious wear. The building was so intact that it felt like it had only been abandoned for a couple decades not tens of thousands of years.

The most surprising revelation however, was the Sacred Stone Alter and the Door of Time that remained perfectly preserved, no wear or erosion present at all. The Door of Time was a perfect mirror of the one from Ocarina of Time, its intricate sun design an unexpected comfort. The alter in front of it was quite a bit different but not unrecognizable. Instead of the understated Black and Grey stone shape inlayed between the small steps up to the door, it was by and large the focus of the room. Pure white stone made up the six cloaked figures who held the black stone top up. That same white stone coming up behind the top to depict what was obviously Hylia, head bowed and arms outstretched to hover over the inscribed marble.

Heart in my throat, I made my way across the room until I all but collapsed in front of the altar. I distantly recognized that I was crying. Caught up in the emotion of being in this all to important place, I didn't even realize Link had followed me until he gently placed his hand on my shoulder. Looking up at him from my place on the floor, I could see the concern in his eyes, unsure of what was wrong with me but incredibly willing to help.

"I'm okay. It's just- I don't-" I try to explain to him between big stupid tears, "I didn't expect it to be like this. It was supposed to be a ruin, but instead it's just like the one…" I trailed off trying to figure out how to put my feelings into words.

Link didn't say anything back, just sat down on the wispy remnants of the red carpet next to me and waited for me to continue.

"I used to pretend to come here as a child. There are so many stories about Hyrule and it's hero, but there was one that really captured me. In that story, this place is a very important feature in it. I dreamed so often of being able to come to this place, but I never once thought it would happen. The stories, this world, it wasn't real. But then the Eclipse Game brought me here. But this world is so different from the one in that story. I was certain that even if I managed to get up here to see this place, it wouldn't be the same as the one I dreamed of. To see it in person like this…" I weepily explain, to genuinely happy to really be embarrassed by the state I was in.

"Link, thank you. This means everything to me." I give him a rather wet smile, hoping my nonsense explanation could help him understand.

Link still looks a bit confused, but the layer of concern seemed to be gone from his stare. I guess my blubbering succeeded somewhat. He slowly looks around the room, possibly trying to see what could have endeared this place to me. I'm not sure if he found what he was looking for but he did eventually turn back to me, "Ash called me something like that, the hero of this story. What does that mean? She didn't really elaborate."

"I've spent about five hours total in Ash's company, and honestly I would have been more surprised if you said she had elaborated." I joked trying to lighten the mood. I scooted so I was fully facing him and could put the picnic basket between us. "Alright, I told you I would tell you the truth, so why don't we dig into this undoubtedly delicious dinner Ramona made us and I can start from the beginning?"

The look of relief he gave me was almost tangible. So, as I pulled out what was to be our dinner, meat filled rice balls and carrot cake, I started to tell him about how I, we if I included Ash, Michiko, and anyone else who played the Eclipse game, got here. I told him about The Legend of Zelda series, how there were so many stories and how they didn't really coherently line up with each other. I even talked about my thoughts on the fact that while so much of this world was so similar to Breath of the Wild I was honestly surer than ever before that this wasn't that game.

"So, what does it mean, that things are different?" He eventually asks after I had started to count off the difference that I had already noticed.

"Well, it means that any information I have about what could have been the future is pretty much useless. Couple that with the fact that the ability to punch things is not incredibly useful either, and I've run out of skills. In the world of my dreams, and I'm nothing more than a useless lump. Maybe this is my punishment for messing with magic I didn't understand." I wryly state while shifting around so I can flop onto the cold hard ground.

"I don't think you're useless." Link offers quietly. For a second, I think he's going to say more, but he doesn't. He lets the statement hang in the air, no arguments against my claims, just a simple fact. It cut through the cloud of my self-deprecation so cleanly that for the life of me, I couldn't work up the desire to continue it.

Our talk had eaten through most of the remaining daylight, the setting sun now casting the temple in warm hues the stone hadn't had before. "Thanks, I'm gonna try to be useful. I think, if I can study more of this world and it's history, I might at least be able to figure out what timeline we're in, maybe even how it relates to Breath of the Wild. If I could come back here to really study this building, maybe I can figure out what's going on. I know I've already asked for one favor, but if you could bring me back here, you wouldn't have to stay with me or anything. I know it would probably be pretty boring, but if you could just drop me off for a while, I would be really grateful. I got so carried away explaining things to you that I didn't even bother to take any notes on the architectural findings here. God, I didn't even check the inscription to see if it's the same one." I berated myself to hide the embarrassment of being so emotionally vulnerable.

Wait, speaking of inscriptions, I fucking forgot to read the one on the well in Kakariko…

"Shit. Fuck. I'm the worst Archaeologist in the whole fucking world." I quietly sang. Apparently I can talk a big game, but once it comes down to actually paying attention to important details I just check the fuck out.

"Why can't I read this?" I whisper in shock. In the dim evening light it was difficult to see, but it was plain that this was not the same Hylian that I had grown used to. Crap, how could I forget? Modern Hylian and ancient Hylian were two different languages. The games had made that abundantly clear. I had assumed that this ability to understand everything had come as a side effect of whatever magic brought me here, but if I could only understand modern Hylian then that almost implied some kind of decision being made. But by who or what, I'm not sure. What is the Eclipse Game?

"I can read it." Link says plainly.

"You can what now?" I gape at him.

"Yeah, it says," Link begins but as he reads out the inscription it quickly becomes apparent he is reciting it in ancient Hylian, the sound so similar to the Hylian I know but just different enough that it my brain feels like it has hit an error screen.

"I have no idea what you just said. But, does it happen to say something about the Three Spiritual Stones, The Ocarina of Time, and the Song of Time?" I asked wondering if this was going to match up to the game or not.

"Oh, sorry." Link blushes, "Um, yeah, kind of? It talks about whoever possesses the Sacred Pendants. Says they should take the Ocarina of Time in hand and give a prayer to the Goddess of Time. It doesn't say anything about a song though." Link translates roughly.

I'm probably more surprised than I should be at the point. I already knew this wasn't Ocarina of Time so obviously it was going to be somewhat different, but even in the fading evening light I could see the divots in the stone where the stones were to be placed, divots that were clearly in the shape of the Spiritual Stones, albeit smaller than what Ocarina of Time led me to believe. However, calling them the Sacred Pendants brought up the obvious relation to the Pendants of Virtue from A Link to the Past, and subsequently A Link Between Worlds. But I guess in the end those two sets of items and this temple as well have one very common denominator.

Looking at the very pristine Door of Time on the other side of the altar I couldn't help but voice my thoughts, "Well, I could be wrong but I think I might know where the Master Sword is hiding."

"That's the sword I'm supposed to use right? Hey Lazarie, what's the Ocarina of Time?" He asked still looking at the altar.

"Huh? Oh, it's um." I fumble around but successfully pull it out of my bag. Even in the dying light the Ocarina of Time managed to almost glow ethereally. "It's a really important item from one of the stories and it's the item I used in the Eclipse Game."

Link turned to look at it as soon as I produced it from my bag. There was something in his expression as he stared at it, a confusion I couldn't really place. He stays quiet for a while, never tearing his eyes away from the item in my hands.

"It feels important." His whisper catches me by surprise in the unnaturally still air of the temple.

"I mean, that's fair. It is important. It's also very magical, so maybe that's what the feeling is?" I offer awkwardly, unsure of my words as they escape my mouth.

"No. That's not what I mean. It-" He seems frustrated for a second, squeezing his eyes closed in thought, "I don't remember anything. Who I was, my past, my friends or family, I don't remember any of it. But this… It feels important. Not familiar, nothing feels familiar, but I know it's really important." His frustration is nearly palpable, and the force of it shatters my heart.

I hadn't thought of how difficult things might be for him right now. Here he was no memories, no helpful ghost of the King to guide him, and the first person he met, his first friend, turned out to be telling all kinds of lies. That's heartbreaking overwhelming for one person to go through.

"Okay. Okay, what can I do? You said it feels important; do you want to hold it? Or try playing it?" I offer anything that pops into my head desperate to try and help in whatever way I could.

He shook his head no in response, still not looking at me.

"I could tell you about the story behind it? Or I could play it, if you'd like?" I offer instead, hoping that might be an easier thing for him.

He finally glanced back up at me his eyes a storm of confusion and pain. With a small nod and a smaller smile, he agrees to my proposition.

"Yeah? Okay! Um Why don't I start by playing and then I'll tell you the story as we travel back to the stable and maybe get some hot cocoa to treat ourselves?" I beam, excited that something I offered might help. He nodded again.

I take a look around the nearly dark temple, and figure there's only one song that really suits the location. We may not have all the necessary parts to open the Door of Time, but that doesn't mean I can't play the song anyway. After all, it's too quiet in here without the background music.

My fingers shift to the familiar placements on the ocarina as I heave a breath. Bringing it to my lips I begin the somber song. The notes float heavily in the air around us. Once again, I am awed at the sound of the Ocarina of Time, the fullness of each of the notes and the echo of the cathedral around us making it feel like the hall was filled with people playing the tune instead of just me.

It was intensely dark by the time I finished the Song of Time, the echoes of the final notes still in the air. The moonlight gave the soft illusion of light but in actuality it illuminated none of the architecture around us.

Looking to Link, I only barely registered the confused wonder in his gaze before I was thoroughly distracted by the inscription on the altar beginning to glow. Then, it was both of our turns to stare in wonderment.

"You who have entered this Holy Hall. On this plateau there are Three Trails of Virtue. Best all three and return with the Sacred Pendants. Only then shall the Doors of Time be opened." A soft feminine voice boomed throughout the temple around us. It was soothing and world shaking, a legion of voices making up one singular person. There was no doubt that this was Hylia speaking.

I locked gazes with Link again, my awe echoed equally back at me.

Link and I sat around the campfire back at Lon Lon Ranch, mugs of hot chocolate clutched loosely in our hands. Ramona had given us some sort of sweet bread as well, but my mind was spinning too fast to truly consider eating it.

We hadn't spoken much since leaving the Temple of Time, too wrapped up in disbelief to try to articulate any decent conversation.

"So that was more informational than I thought." I awkwardly began.

Link nodded in agreement.

"So I guess you'll need to spend some time up on the Great Plateau. You know, to find whatever those trials are." I state rather lamely.

Link nods again before eventually adding, "Yeah. That'll be good right? Maybe it'll help us find out more about how this world relates to the others, like you said? And it means that we'll need to go back to the Temple of Time eventually anyway." Link smiles a bit uncomfortably but definitely hopefully at me.

"Wait. We? Like both of us? Do you want me to come with?" I ask, some unnamable emotion squeezing my chest.

"Hm? Well, yeah. I mean, I assumed that we would do this together. You said I was the hero and all. I just thought you would want me to come with. Unless, you don't?" Link awkwardly explains, much to my disbelief.

"What? No, I thought- I didn't know if you would want me to tag along with you to do these." I laugh at the absurdity of the situation, "Of course I want you to come along. I just thought you would want to get away as soon as you could."

"Oh!" Link smiles shyly, "Yeah, we found this together. I think its only right that we should do this together. Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow sounds great." I agreed only slightly embarrassed. Looks like I might get to be a part of this adventure, even if it's only for a little bit.

We stayed up for a while longer, watching the stars and drinking hot chocolate. Eventually, we went our separate ways to go to bed, ready for whatever adventure the morning brought.

_Notes:_

_We made it through another chapter! This one is a rather short one, but it is a rather emotional one for me so I couldn't imagine packing it with more content. This is actually one of the plot points that made me want to write this fic! Also we're finally getting into the actual plot!_

_I hope you guys are enjoying this, I haven't gotten any reviews for a while so it's a little disheartening but I'm still going strong. I would really appreciate some feedback though._

_Thanks._


	7. A Test of Courage

A Hyrule Historian

Chapter VII

A Test of Courage

The next morning was spent solving a frustrating amount of time solving Korok puzzles within the Forest of Spirits on the Great Plateau. It was sometime around midday that we finally sat down and ate our packed lunch.

"You know. I hate to say it, but it kinda feels like we're getting nowhere, right now," I complain between bites of sandwich, "Like. Don't get me wrong. Those Koroks are cute as hell, but like…I wish we had more of an idea of what we should be looking for."

That was the problem in the end, wasn't it? Without the Sheikah Shrines or any kind of quest markers to guide us, we were stuck just wandering aimlessly until we stumbled upon whatever these Trials were supposed to be.

Link simply nodded solemnly but focused his gaze on the woods surrounding us. Part of me wondered if he was keeping an eye out for trouble, but his expression seemed too calm, too at ease in these surroundings. In a way, he did seem to fit within this setting, even without the Iconic green outfit. He sat upon a large protruding root a little lower than me. From my vantage point it was easy to see that he wasn't gearing up for a surprise attack, and I couldn't help but wonder if that was because in the several hours we had been up here we hadn't run into a single monster; or was it because this Link doesn't have any memories yet to warn him of potential dangers in the darkened woods around us.

In contrast to Link's calm demeanor, I felt anxious to my core. I'm mean, I'm always anxious. That's just kind of who I am. But, this was different. Ever since we entered the forest this morning I've had this unshakable sense of wrongness settle over my body.

I looked back to Link, his feet lightly swaying back and forth as he munched on his own sandwich. I took a deep breath and tried to will myself to calm down. We hadn't had any kind of trouble yet so there was no need to worry about it right now. It didn't work and I still felt the crawling need to rip off my own skin to stop the nervous twitching of my skin. I settled for rubbing my fingers over the cable knit pattern on my cardigan.

"According to the Sheikah Slate, we've only covered a small area of this forest, which is an even smaller part of the Great Plateau. So I don't think we're getting nowhere. We just have a lot of exploring to do." Link smiled warmly at me.

"I guess your right." I signed. He did make a good point. I was so used to the fast pace of video games that I guess I forgot to consider that in order to explore and adventure here you needed to spend much more than a couple hours in front of the TV. "Alrighty then, adventure awaits!" I hop off the tree roots dramatically striking a pose.

Link beams at me and imitates my pose. The two of us pause for a beat before giggling and dropping the pose. A few seconds passed as we collected ourselves, but soon enough we were heading off, deeper into the forest.

The woods only grew denser as we continued on. The bright beams of daylight became more and more sparse as the trees grew taller and closer to one another. There was still more than ample amount of light for us to see our surroundings, but that wasn't what was concerning me. The forest had grown unnaturally still. I could still hear the faint breeze and could even see the leaves far above our heads rustle from its touch, but it never reaches my skin. The dense covering of moss and leaves on the ground was complete undisturbed by anything but our own footsteps.

I'm not certain how long we had been walking; no sight of the sun or even Korok puzzles for the last couple of hours at least. Link and I stayed close to each other, the unspoken fear that any break of our visual of each other could cause us to get separated. It wasn't long before we found what we were looking for.

Ahead of us was a clearing almost luminous with how much sunlight shone down in comparison to the surrounding forest. On the other side of the clearing from us was the husk of an ancient tree laying on its side. Obviously long dead, its roots hung curling out and around and towards a small marble pedestal.

The pedestal was no higher than a foot off the ground, I might not have even noticed it had the dry roots on this unbelievably large tree not been pointing straight at it. But as we approached all possible doubt of what this could be was thoroughly blown away. In the center of the pedestal was a neat, embedded, golden Triforce.

"Is this normal?" Link whispers to me as we continue to stare.

"Um, well, yeah. I mean. I've never seen this exact configuration but like this is pretty on brand." I whisper back, never once taking my eyes off of the obvious entrance to a dungeon.

"What does that mean?"

"Yes. It means yes. With how things go in Hyrule, this is probably gonna be the least intimidating or weird entrance we are gonna see." I finally manage to break my gaze away from the tree to give Link a reassuring smile and pat on the back before stepping closer to the pedestal. Inside the messy cage of roots was a straight shot to the base of the tree, and nothing else. No door. No inscription. Nothing. Just the bottom of a twenty-foot wide tree.

"Cool. Cool. So figuring out how to get inside is the first puzzle I take it." I mutter while trying to take stock of anything useful to us. I look back down to the pedestal just in front of my feet, "Hey Link, why don't you hop on up here? See if your proximity might set something off?"

He steps onto the Triforce emblem and looks around expectantly. After a brief moment of nothing, he begins to bounce on his toes. When that fails to produce any noticeable result he looks back to me and shrugs. "Maybe you should play that song again? Maybe the lady will tell us what to do?" He offers.

"Maybe…I'm not sure that's how this works though…" I hesitantly respond, mulling over the options in my head, "Hylia is only really known to speak when you're at a place of worship for her. The Triforce itself doesn't necessarily connect to her as much as it is about the Golden Goddesses and The Royal Fam-" I cut my rambling short.

It couldn't be that easy. Could it?

Link turns his head to look at me in concern for why I suddenly stopped talking. With the tilt of his head and furrow of his eyebrows I was struck again by how open and honest his expressions were.

"There's another song. One that was used in one of the stories for opening pathways and junk that were marked with the Triforce. Uh- Hang on let me up." I prattle as I hurriedly grab the Ocarina of Time out of my bag. Link steps down off the pedestal towards the tree as I quickly hop up onto it.

I shift around only slightly nervous before I begin to play Zelda's Lullaby. I have to fight myself to play it slowly not a quick spamming of the notes in my excitement. The melody hung heavy in the too still air around us and I found my self unable to hold the last note for too long before I needed to gasp a breath to fill my panicked lungs.

There was no magical "You Completed the Puzzle" tone that I loved so much from the game. However, there was the crack of a large amount of wood breaking. Before the two of us the solid base of the tree separated, and a doorway into the intense darkness within appeared.

Link beamed at me before excitedly jogging over to the entryway. I felt a rush of adrenaline as I bolted to join him.

The cracked doorway lead into an impossibly dark tunnel in the shade of the roots we could only see a couple feet into the room beyond. Now, I've never been afraid of the dark before, but in this moment knowing that there was a large chance that there were going to be actual monsters hiding in that darkness; I was terrified.

Link and I shared a look as he drew the sword and shield from his back. I hesitantly followed suit and tightly gripped my sword with both hands. With a deep breath the two of us cautiously stepped into our first dungeon. A few steps before a loud crack of wood and we were suddenly plunged into total darkness.

I suppressed a scream but not the flinch and sent my sword clanging to the ground. "Shit!" I cursed trying to feel around the floor with my boot for the incredibly sharp weapon I had stupidly dropped.

"Lazarie?" Link's distressed call in front of me only furthered my embarrassment.

"Sorry! I'm fine! I dropped my sword and I can't see it! It's fine. I'm just stupid and bad at everything." I try to reassure him that I'm fine in everything but dignity.

"Wait." Link mutters before I can hear him rustling around in front of me. For a heart pounding second I think he is warning me of some unseen monster and I freeze all movements. But, quickly enough I hear him let out a small victorious huff and the dim blue light of the Sheikah Slate illuminates our surroundings.

Link shined the light down towards our feet so I could see the sword and carefully pick it back up. I mutter a quiet thanks before shifting and holding my sword at the ready before apologizing, unable to look at his face in case he was laughing at me.

"It's okay, you know. You said you've never used a sword right? So you don't have the muscle memory to not drop it when something scares you. That's normal. I did the same thing when I first got a sword and Deku Baba jumped at me." He reassured me gently.

I smiled gratefully before what he said caught up with my brain, "Wait. Link did you just- I mean- Do you remember when you first held a sword?" I sputter excitedly.

He startles at my words before his monolid eyes widened in comprehension, "I- I do! I mean. I kind of do? I remember being really little and getting a sword and having to go see… My dad? I think. But I remember a Deku Baba springing up and snapping at me. I was flung my sword at it in reflex. I- You reminded me of that." He breathed joyfully. "It's been- I've been awake for days and this is the first time I've remembered anything about my past."

"Link that's ama-" I begin to congratulate him before I can physical feel my stomach flip in dread. It seems as if Link and I had been too caught up in talking that we didn't think to keep and eye or ear out for any signs of trouble in the dark. Far too late we both hear the scurry scritch of something far too large with far too many legs come from above us.

In horror our heads snap up only to be met with the falling body of the largest fucking spider in the history of anything. I didn't even have enough time to scream before the thing was on top of me. Though I shouldn't have worried about that. The scream that tried to build up in my throat was viciously ripped out of me as I could feel something sharp clamp down on my upper left arm.

My hearing quickly gave out to the ringing inside of my head as I struggled to get this thing to let go off my arm but I couldn't get any kind of leverage on it as I was pinned under its gross bulbous body and sharp stamping legs.

Suddenly the weight on top of me was violently pushed off as I could barely make out the shape of Link, body braced behind his shield, throwing himself at the spider only to catch himself before falling with it. Giving the Skulltula, because that was undoubtedly what it was, no time to right itself; Link dashed forward with his sword outstretched and pierced it through the squishy vulnerable belly.

The shriek it let loose as it curled up and died was the first sound to pierce the ringing in my ears. The second was Link frantic calls of my name as he crashed to his knees in front of me.

"I'm okay. It's not that bad." I wince out as I try to pull the treads of my cardigan away from the open and bloody wound on my arm, "At least I think it will be. Skulltulas aren't poisonous- venomous- whatever- are they? Like in the stories they aren't but like, how reliable is that information, I mean you can fall off cliffs in some of them and be perfectly fine. Am I gonna die? I haven't even made it through the first trial and I'm gonna die." I ramble only serving to make myself more and more panicked.

Link wraps his hand around mine to pull it away from the wound. I look up and him and in the pale blue light I see him smile at me before quietly assuring me it was going to be okay. I spend a minute or so breathing and through both the panic and the pain. I pick up my twice-dropped sword and ready myself to head further down the nightmare tunnel.

We are both silent as Link leads us down the seemingly endless tunnel. I try to keep my breathing steady as I try to listen for any more tells of monsters hiding in large wooden tunnel. Our footsteps creak the smooth wood below us triggering a part of my brain into remembering trying to sneak out across old warped wood floors without letting my parents know. If I could have only know how low those stakes would be comparatively.

Link halts suddenly and I jump in an effort to not accidentally whack him with my sword. Looking ahead I quickly spot the reason for our halted progress, in the dim light of the Sheikah Slate I could just barely make out the shine of threads of spider silk coating the walls and floor.

"I know this is a stupid question but you wouldn't happen to have like a torch or anything to start a fire would you?" I tried to not get overwhelmed with the dawning sense of dread.

Link sadly shakes his head no.

I can hear my heartbeat in my ears at this point.

Link cautiously taps his foot against the thread, "It's not sticky, and looks pretty durable so we shouldn't fall through." He offers up in way that says he's trying to ease my worry.

It does not.

I am suddenly keenly aware of my still bleeding arm. I was never a big fan of spiders before, so I never went out of my way to look up facts about them, but I was reasonably sure they weren't known for their sense of smell or a lust for blood. Unfortunately, I was very aware that they track prey caught in their webs by the vibrations it creates.

Link began to make his way onto the web and I was left with no choice but to do the same. At first it was similar to walking over a thin blanket on the ground; you could almost forget about it if you tried hard enough. But, as we continued further down the tunnel, the webbing started to constrict and soon we were at least a foot or so off the ground. It felt almost like walking on a trampoline, one made of danger and nightmares.

Just as I was starting to worry that it was going to constrict down to the point we'd have to crawl, the webbing suddenly widened and disbursed along the walls of a deep cavernous room. The wooden floor of the tunnel came to a sudden stop and all that was left were a few rope like strands of spider silk suspended over what looked like a never ending drop below. Several hundred feet in front of us was not only the only platform in the room, but also the only bit of light we had seen as a part of this tunnel since entering.

The light was very dim considering it was blanketed in a thick layer of webbing. It did however illuminate the fact that on the platform there was a large person shaped object covered in webbing and glowing. At least, I really hoped it was an object and not like… a Sheikah monk or something. I really hoped there wasn't anyone alive and waiting there.

Though I was concerned about whether it was a person or statue, I found I couldn't pay too much attention to it as I was too distracted by the writhing dark mass of what I could only assume to be spiders that covered the ceiling. In the combination of the two lights I could just barely make out the forms shifting around and I couldn't help the immediate flashback to being a child and having to fight Queen Gohma for the first time.

It is heart-stoppingly clear that in order to progress we were going to have to walk across the webs to the platform, which would almost definitely agro every spider in the room. As if that wasn't a terrifying enough thought, I was also confronted with the fact that walking across the ropes wasn't going to be easy regardless. Now don't get me wrong; I'm sporty. But, I'm not acrobatic in any kind of way. I'm much more of a strength and endurance kind of person. I've never tight rope or slack rope walked in my life and the sight of the drop beneath us made me unenthusiastic to try.

At this point I wasn't sure if my lightheaded-ness was due to the spiders, the potential fall, or blood loss from the open wound on my arm. Also, maybe poison. I still haven't ruled out poison.

Link turns to me and nods his head before making a motion that conveys a 'Let's Do This' kind of thought. Too which I just turn my wide eyed gaze to the thin web in front of us, then the unknown amount of spiders on the ceiling, back to him and just rapidly shake my head no.

I don't want to do this, please.

Maybe I should just go back to the entrance and wait for death. But do I really want to wait for the spiders to come find me? No. No a fast death by spider or falling is better than a slow death of waiting for spiders. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

When I open my eyes again Link is still looking at me concerned. I solemnly nod and prepare to follow him out into the abyss.

I can only hope he survives. If I died here it would suck but like if Link dies then the whole world is fucked. So like, I know what is more important.

Link begins his careful walk across the larges of the spider vines towards the platform in the middle of the room; shakily I follow. The path was sturdier than I expected, wider as well. Link and I cautiously made our way towards the center. All I could do was focus on my steps and my balance and pray to Hylia and any other Goddesses that would listen to please let me make it out of this.

A cacophony of screams from above us metaphorically shook me to my core just before several horrible nightmare spiders dropped from the ceiling and literally shook me off my feet and into a weird monkey-esque cling to the web. My arms and legs locked in a tight embrace around the web-rope and sword thankfully still grasped tightly in my right hand, though useless pointed off to the side where it cant protect me unless I comprise my deadlock on the only thing keeping me from a deadly drop, I am afforded a stomach turning look at what we were going up against. I could make out the shapes of two massive misshapen bulbous spiders. In the dark I could only just make out the reflective glint of what felt like hundreds of eyes staring at me; it genuinely seemed like ever inch of these creatures were covered in eyes. A glancing thought flitted through my head of Rom from Bloodborne which oddly enough made me a little less terrified and more than a little grateful because at least this was the Zelda Universe and not Bloodborne so like things could be much worse.

I whipped my head back so I could look to make sure Link hadn't fallen to his death. With no small amount of relief however, I saw Link already hoisting himself to stand up on the rope again, sword and shield still firmly in possession. With an amount of grace that I envied greatly, Link made his way back to me and moved to help me up.

"No! No- Just- Spiders! Get the spiders first! I'm just gonna shimmy over to solid ground. Don't worry about me." I frantically try to convince him while also not letting go of my lifeline. He nods seriously before moving over me to cut of the spider's path.

I slowly start to move my arms and legs around the rope to make my way towards the platform in the middle.

Please. Please let the statue be a statue and not an enemy. Hylia. Din. Farore. Nayru. I don't know. The Windfish? Any of the multitudes of Gods in the Zelda universe. Please throw me a bone and not kill me as soon as I get to solid land again. I'm begging you.

My progress is slow, and only made slower by my constant need to look back at Link and make sure he's still there. I can only really identify him by the light off the Sheikah Slate, but every time I hear a scream of feel the rope bounce under a large shift in weight, I can still see him standing up there.

Eventually I manage to reach the platform and, although by this point my wounded arm is screaming in pain, I manage to hoist myself up onto sweet, satisfying, solid ground. The edge around the statue is not very wide, only a couple feet at most, but it is enough for me to stand comfortably without falling.

I only get a second of reprieve before another massive and surprisingly oily spider drops down directly on to of the 10 foot statue. Thankfully, this time instead of dropping my rather beaten up broadsword, I manage to grip it tightly and awkwardly thrust it up into the nightmare fuel of a creature's face.

It lets out a horrible cacophony screech and to my utter dismay, explodes into hundreds of tiny spiders that rain down upon me. I grasp onto the webbing covered statue and shake unable to move or fight the feeling of hundreds of tiny spider feet crawling over me, my clothes, my hair, everything.

This was it.

This is how I die.

There's nothing that can possibly save me.

I was finally startled out of my paralysis when I feel very warm, very human hands start to rapidly brush along my hair, shoulders, and back. This spurs me into raising my sword free hand, although it is attached to my injured arm, and try to frantically brush any tiny spiders from my face that I could.

Eventually, though twitching and crying, we manage to get at least most of the spiders off of me. Opening my eyes I come face to face with Link, face clearly worried but clearly ready to jump in to help as soon as I need it.

You know, I've played every Zelda game in the main series, and I think it's very easy to overlook just how incredibly kind Link is. For a second I'm honestly star struck. Like here was a teenage boy who had nearly no memories to speak of and an incredibly big destiny ahead of him, and yet every iteration, every boy with the Spirit of the Hero, just dives head first into any problem anyone is facing, no matter how mundane. In this moment, with Link wholeheartedly concerned not just for my safety, but for emotional wellbeing as well, I can see just why the Goddess would constantly put her faith in him.

What's that Captain America quote? Not a perfect solider, but a good man.

Yeah.

I offer a strained smile, too panicked still to be casual, and hope he understands my gratitude.

We turn as one towards the statue we are still holding onto. Link uses his sword to start cutting away at the web carefully so he won't accidently unbalance himself and fall into the abyss behind us. I awkwardly sheath my own sword and gently start to brush away what webs I can.

Through our careful work we eventually uncover a statue of a woman. She is clearly not another effigy of Hylia, seeing as she is missing all of Hylia's normal symbols, but by the featureless face and Triforce brooch on her dress it wouldn't be unthinkable to believe she was probably one of the Golden Goddesses.

Though the most obvious piece of evidence was the lightly glowing perfect replica of the Kokiri Emerald held in her cupped hands. It was much smaller than it's counterpart in Ocarina of Time, though as far as real life jewelry went I would say it was large enough to be considered gaudy. As Link carefully picked it up we could clearly heart the gentle metallic chime of the chain as it unraveled below it. Then, to my complete amazement, a gentle ethereal tune rang out around us. As the room filled with the familiar tune of completing a major trial in a Zelda game, torched were suddenly lit all across the room.

I had to shut my eyes closed at the sudden brightness, but I did manage to catch a glimpse at the suddenly burning spider webs across the room. When I finally chanced opening my eyes I could finally take in the room surrounding us.

"Oh are you kidding me?" I whine as I look around the previously terrifying room.

The room was made entirely of a dull pitch-black stone, similar in a way to the darker un-climbable Sheikah Shrine walls. The roof was incredibly high which did help the cavernous appearance, but the previously looking bottomless pit was actually only about 15 feet down. I've literally fallen out of trees from higher up than we were now.

I look at the pendant in Link's hand and then back to the statue behind us, "So I guess it's pretty safe to say this was the Trail of Courage then." I grumble under my breath, frustration at being tricked grating upon my nearly nonexistent pride.

"What's that?" Link pipes up as he leans to look around the statue. I lean to the other side and catch the sight of a glowing portal on the ground in front of us. It's hard to describe something so entirely magical in words. The only thing I could think to compare it to is the Aurora Borealis. Bands of swirling tangible light radiating from a perfect circle of the floor.

"That's our ticket out of here, my dude." I breathe in wonder.

God. Magic is so fucking cool.

It was nearly sundown and Link and I were relaxing at the Old Castle Town entrance turned lake. We hadn't talked much since getting out of the Trial mostly just worried about foraging for hearty radishes, which apparently you can turn into what is basically a red potion but instead of drinking it you just apply it to the wound in question. Now with my definitely not poison wound cleaned, medicated and then wrapped; we finally had some time to just take a breath and think about everything that happened.

Despite have taken a deep swim in the lake just to make sure any straggling spider babies were thoroughly drowned and in hell where they belong, I still couldn't shake the feeling of them scurrying across my skin. In my heart I just new that my anxiety disorder wasn't going to ever let me forget that nightmare.

"I think I've fought something like that before." Even though he only just whispers it, Link's voice breaks the stillness thoroughly.

I turn to lay on my stomach to face him, chin pillowed atop my hands as I look to where he is sitting against a scrap of an ancient stone wall. I smiled openly, trying to push the part of my brain that wants to hyper focus on a potential trauma to the back of my mind. "I wouldn't be surprised if you did. If I remember correctly, every Zelda game has a large spider enemy. Like, it's a pretty solid staple of the series: That and giant eyeball weakness enemies." I prattle off and wait for him to offer up any more information.

He's quiet for a while. It eventually gets to the point where I start to think that maybe that was all he was going to say before he softly starts up again. "I feel like… Like the knowledge of who I was is on the tip of my tongue. When I woke there was nothing. I couldn't even begin to question the things I forgot because it was like they had never been there at all. But earlier, when we were talking about dropping your sword, it was like that knowledge had been there the whole time. It wasn't like a sudden revelation or flashback. It was just there. I just hadn't been able to see it before." He spoke softly like he was carefully choosing every word as he went in a desperate attempt to convey his thoughts.

"I think I get it. I'm no brain or memory doctor. I don't know much about how all of this kind of stuff works, but I do know that people's brain have associations and pathways and stuff that link memories to different senses and thoughts. So like something about me dropping my sword was a strong enough association for your brain to have the context for that thought. If that makes sense?" I offer in hopes of helping. Despite media using amnesia constantly as a trope, I've never known anyone who had something like that. I certainly never had enough experience with people to really know what to do in the face of a tragedy like this.

Because that's what this was. A tragedy. Too have every bit of yourself scrubbed from your head; it must be torture.

Link's smile held a bittersweet note to it, "Maybe you're right. Maybe if I see more and do more, I'll start to remember more things." He mused hopefully.

"Well, I'm not sure if it will help, but there is only one story in the Zelda series where the Hero has to deal with being revived without memories: Breath of the Wild, the most recent one. One of the parts of that story is going around Hyrule and certain places would cause him to have a sudden visual flashback. Though, those were more like visions of the past than memories… Also they were usually from the Princess's point of view… And sometimes the Hero wasn't even there… You know now that I'm saying this I'm not entirely sure they were memories." I finish lamely.

Link's face was trying very hard to not be disappointed.

"But! Whatever! That doesn't matter because this isn't that story!" I quickly put on a dramatic amount of bravado, "I'm now sure of it! This is clearly a Legend of Zelda game that I've never seen before! Maybe it came out sometime after I came here! But Whatever! That doesn't matter! What does matter is that you've already remembered something about yourself. So that means you are able to access your own memories. So you may not remember who you are, and I may not have known ever, but I promise you this," I dramatically push myself to my feet so I can point down at him.

"I'm gonna help you figure it out. Even if it means I have to fight a thousand more horrible spider monsters. They wont stand a chance! You may the Hero and are definitely going to be the person every single inhabitant of Hyrule is going to rely on to help them with every task they can think of, but I'm gonna be the person you can rely on. Your quest is to save Hyrule. Mine is to help you remember your life… And figure out what timeline and era we are in. That is still probably going to be helpful. I think" I realize how ridiculous I must seem about halfway through my pledge. I find myself unable to look at Link's face and pull my short navy blue curls in front of my face to hide from they inevitable kind but weirded out reaction that was coming.

The shuffle and scrape of Link standing is the first thing I hear but it is quickly followed by the soft taps of his worn leather boots approaching me. He stops just in front of me, close enough to touch but far enough away that I don't feel the panic of someone entering my bubble, and just waits.

Eventually I force myself to face the music and drop my hands, my hair bouncing back in place, and drag my eye up to his face. Link stands before me, steel blue eyes glinting in the dying light of dusk, absolutely beaming. The warmth and gratefulness that radiates from his person is so encompassing that, despite me standing what must be something like 5 inches taller than him, it feels like he is a large home shaped blanket waiting eclipse me completely and never leave.

"Then I guess we should track down the other two pendants."

_Notes:_

_Oh my god! I'm so sorry that I took half a year to update this again. I had been doing so well at posting once a week too! Ugh, life gets in the way again. But, I'm very happy to announce that I am back on the hopefully weekly updates again._

_I wanna say thanks for the absolutely wonderful reviews! _

_ YingWhiteyWolf:_

_Oh my god! This review was so sweet! You're questions are all really good and are definitely going to be answered eventually in the story, so unfortunately for now you'll have to wait._

_ Aster's Descendants:_

_Man you really hit it out of the park with two of those. The only one I wouldn't say is super apt is that you shouldn't fangirl about your favorite characters. Like I don't think it's gonna be super easy for any of the Players to not fangirl about one thing or another, hell you've already seen Lazarie lose her mind over the Temple of Time, so I don't necessarily think that fangirling is the root of the problem. The root for her is much more the entitlement she felt over Link and her obvious internalized misogyny._

_And you're Tell the Truth moral? (Imagine me doing a chef's kiss right now) Perfection. I've been around the fanfiction circle for a couple decades now and I have seen many trends in OC fiction come and go but one of the ones that I has really stuck around is people making up lies about who they are and where they come from, and like don't get me wrong sometimes people do it excellently and it's actually a great plot point, but too frequently I see people who do it needlessly especially in like fantasy settings. Like my dudes, Hyrule has magic and dimension travelling and monsters. I guarantee you are only mildly stranger than anything most Hylians see daily._

_Sorry I rambled a bit. I hope everyone likes the chapter! I'd love to hear what your thoughts._

_Thanks._


	8. Find a Cure for My Life

A Hyrule Historian

Chapter VIII

Find a Cure for My Life

I found myself incredibly grateful for changes from the Breath of the Wild map to this real life one. While it would have been nice to know exactly where I was and what was going to happen, it doesn't compare to the relief of not having to figure out how to traverse the snowy peak of Mt Hylia. Seeing as there are two of us, no suspicious old men to give us warm clothes, and no idea how to make magic spicy food that makes you immune to the cold; it was a relief that half the plateau wasn't partially covered in snow.

In this reality the entirety of the Great Plateau was covered the Forest of Spirits, okay well technically only the part that was to the west of The Ruins of Castle Town and the south of The Shrine of Resurrection was called the Forest of Spirits. To the north was The Forest of Hylia, with Mt Hylia breaching up through the impossibly large trees. While, to the East was the Sacred Grove, which contained what I'm assuming is the Eastern Abbey. These of course were labeled neatly on Link's Sheikah Slate.

As we traversed the temperate forest I couldn't help but notice the creeping dread of feeling out of place wrap around me again. I had nearly forgotten about it with the nightmare of the Trial of Courage. I was unable to suppress a panicked shiver that ran down my spine at the thought of it again.

I quickly switched my focus back to the sense of wrongness that permeated the entire forest. I couldn't help but wonder if this was a portion of the Lost Woods that stayed attached to this area? Or maybe it grew on it's own from the residual magic? Though, that's only assuming I am right about Castle Town and The Lost Woods switching places. I mean, the placement of the two don't make sense otherwise, but whatever. Maybe this is a weird version of the confusion magic that makes people get lost and turn into Stalfos.

It took us most of the day to hike to hike up Mt Hylia. It was dark by the time we reached the peak. Atop the mountain was a stone monument just like in Breath of the Wild, no names or inscriptions were on it to signify whom the grave was for and I couldn't help but remember people who had data mined the game and found out that the assets were named something like King's Tomb. However, unlike the game there was another Triforce pedestal directly in front of it.

I had only just made it to the smooth flat top of the mountain before I finally had to collapse and lay down. Drawing deep breaths into my exhausted lungs I took in the sight of the sky. In all of my travels back on earth, I have never seen so many stars. I was constantly amazed by this world with no light pollution or greenhouse gases and whatever else we had done to the environment back home. The sky was so much more alive than I ever could have imagined. No wonder ancient cultures firmly believed that the sky held their Deities, if their night skies were anything like the ones in this very magical land, I probably would have believed in a higher power too.

Link joined me on the ground, his head next to mine on the very hard stone of the pedestal. We stayed like that for a while, resting and catching our breath. I had always considered myself fairly physically fit. I was pretty muscular, more so than any of the girls I was ever in school with at least, I had always focused on strength and endurance training instead of worrying about looking slim or sexy like society demands of women. Being tall for a girl was beneficial in that way I guess; I had some many people both my own age and also grown ass adults telling me that boys don't like girls who are taller than them as if I could personally choose my height. The joke was on them in the end because I came out as bisexual and women are really into girls who are tall and can bench-press them.

Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is that I am used to a lot of physical activity and the fact that it means nothing in the face of countless hours of hiking, fighting, and very physical puzzle-solving was more than a little disheartening. In the end though, I guess it didn't matter too much. I was too happy to get to spend time with Link on an adventure to be anything but grateful.

I turn my head to look at Link only to be caught off guard by him already looking at me. He gives me a warm smile before quietly asking, "So do you think we can wait until morning to do the next trial? All I can really think about right now is eating and sleeping." He looks a bit sheepish and I couldn't help but find it endearing.

"Honestly that sounds wonderful." I breathe in relief.

We remain laying down, any buzz of needing to hurry abated by the promise of sleep before whatever awaits us in the trial. Eventually, Link was the first to move and he began to create a small campfire for us to ward of the cool night breeze and heat up the food we had packed for dinner. I decided to busy myself by setting up out bedrolls and pillows; it was still mindboggling to me how this world had actual bags of holding. Like, magic was so fucking awesome and I never want to live without it again. We both had two bags apiece, purchased off of Parcy of course, and you can just casually put things inside and take them out as if nothing had happened. They never changed shape and they never got heavier. Truly it was an amazing feat of magic that I was going to be endlessly thankful for. The bag plus my star purse to hold my important items meant I had a pretty solid organization of goods going.

It wasn't long before we were settled and munching on our dinner.

"Do you think I was wrong to run away from Michiko?" Link's question was soft as the breeze, barely able to be heard over the crackling of the fire.

It startled me; I had been so wrapped up in trying to distract him from the hurt she had caused him that I guess I didn't realize he was still thinking about it. My mouth was full of meat and mushrooms so I used chewing to stall for time as I thought of a good answer. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure what would help Link the most right now, but as I looked at him I remembered my promise to tell him the truth.

"Honestly, I don't know." I sighed, "If I were you I would have absolutely run away, and probably never talk to her again. But, I've also never had any long lasting friendships so I'm probably not a great authority on this subject. And honestly, I can't say I like her, so I might be biased against her. But, no matter how I feel on the subject I think you're opinion matters most. You were the one she hurt by constantly lying so I think however you want to handle it is okay. I'll support you no matter what. Even if you forgive her and want to travel with and probably date her." I ended in a joke to try and cover my awkwardness on the subject. I completely failed at it but it was worth a try.

Link didn't say anything for a while. I was starting to understand that Link was a pretty deep thinker; he always seemed to go over his words in his head before saying them. "I think, I want to know why she did it, but I'm also not ready to see her yet."

I smiled sadly at him, "I think that's fair. We can do things at your pace and when you feel ready, I can go with you. Or I can step back and let you talk to her on your own. Whatever you want, my dude."

He doesn't say anything in response but he doesn't need to. He just gives me another one of his warm, sad smiles and goes back to eating.

I hope I said the right thing.

We rose with the sun. After a quick breakfast and a quicker pack up of our little camp we were officially ready to start our next trial. A quick glance a Link for confirmation that he was ready was all I did before playing the opening notes of Zelda's Lullaby.

I was more than a little curious about where the door to the trial would be, or if maybe we would have to fight something atop the mountain; which, I won't lie, scared the shit out of me. I didn't have to wonder for too long. No sooner than the final notes of the melody floated into the air came a loud crack of stone breaking apart.

Before I could even think to move, I was falling down a large tunnel straight down through the mountain. Black swam up and around me as I fell further away from the daylight above. I would love to say that I was thinking of a way to save myself or even Link, who I could sometimes catch a glimpse of, but I wasn't. In fact I wasn't thinking of anything. I was in the worst panic attack I have ever had in my life. I couldn't take a breath whether it was from the fall stealing the air from my lungs or hyperventilating it didn't really matter. My head was swimming, vision blurry, as I plummeted. Everything happened so fast that I couldn't comprehend what was actually occurring.

Thankfully, I was with the most competent person in the universe. I was firmly grabbed by my cardigan and yanked backwards into Link's arms. He managed to both turn me to face him and duck his way into the circle of my arms, which I hadn't noticed were still desperately clutching the Ocarina of Time.

Don't let go of your obsession.

I couldn't hear if Link was saying anything, the wind and my own screaming was too loud for anything to break through, but with Link's frantic grab at my legs trying to pull them up around his waist; I got the memo and clung to him like a large terrified koala.

Just as suddenly as our descent began, it stopped. Well, not stopped per say, but slowed to a smooth even glide downwards. By this time I had squeezed my eyes shut and buried my head into Link's neck, so it took a bit to work up the nerve to peek, but eventually I glanced above us to see Link's hands gripped tightly to the Paraglider.

"It's okay. I got you. Just hang onto me. I won't let you fall." The soft assurance was whispered straight into my ear. As I looked at Link I was overwhelmed by the comfort he offered. I wasn't sure when I had started crying, but I certainly was now.

Far too soon, the tunnel opened up into a massive room at least the size of a football field. Every surface in the room was made of the same smooth black stone which, coupled with the flickering light of the many torches across the whole space, made for an intense atmosphere of anticipation. It was clear that there was something waiting for us somewhere in the shadows behind pillars and torches but it's was impossible to see what it was.

God, I hope it's not spiders again. Er- Goddess…Hylia. Hylia, I hope it's not spiders again.

We land on a circular platform, which is just about as large as the tunnel above, in the middle of the room. As soon as Link's feet touch the ground, mine still firmly wrapped around his waist. The torches flare blindingly. Even as I quickly slam my eyes shut bright spot dance across my vision while the light tries to pry its way through my eyelids. Once the light faded and I felt it was safe, I opened my eyes and dropped my viper grip on Link.

My legs wobble uncontrollably fro a second and I'm sure that I probably would have fallen to the floor had Link not thought to grab my upper arms to steady me. I'm not even able to thank him everything happens so fast.

The sound of heavy footfalls and the metallic slide of a sword being drawn come from behind me. Link uses his grasp on me to throw the both of us to the side. Link manages to turn us so he lands on his knees, already drawing his sword and shield, while I land less gracefully on my hands and knees beside him. In the spot we had just been standing was a person sword poised and a stabbing motion.

He could only be loosely called a person. It was an inky black mass. It had no facial features, darkness too encompassing to show the ridge of a nose of curve of a mouth. There were, however, two perfectly round, glowing, red lights where eyes should have been. Unlike the games where the polygons of a character shape are usually enough to distinguish them, this real life shadow too indistinct and dark to tell just by sight who it was trying to represent. But, I wasn't guessing by sight, and it was all too obvious what this was.

Dark Link turned towards us, shield up and sword at the ready.

"Link. That's you. Your shadow. He's going to be able to replicate your swordsmanship." I blurt out in a rush as I struggle to my feet. Legs weak, heart racing, and freshly drawn sword shaking; I stand next to Link and wonder if my nonexistent sword skills will help or hinder in this instance.

Dark Link lunges at us with alarming speed but Link darts out to meet him. A swing of a sword is deflected by a shield and Link swings at the opening it created. It looks like it connected with the shadow's not-body, but it didn't flinch and jumped back so swiftly it was hard to know for certain. They traded a few more blows in quick succession.

All I could do was watch. My meager skills with a sword couldn't even begin to compared with the two in front of me. If that wasn't enough, I couldn't even begin to see an opening for me to join in without the risk of being in Link's way. I was well and truly useless.

I shook in despair and fury. My eyes stung and I have never in all my years hated myself more than in this moment. My still unsteady legs finally gave out and my body and tears fell to the ground.

Despite the blurriness of my vision and the heaviness of my limbs I couldn't tear my eyes from the form of Link and his shadow. The constant motion of strikes, parries, blocks, and glancing blows were an endless cycle of motion, a never-ending dance of death. Or at least, it felt like it would never end. That is until the shadow stabbed Link in the side.

I screamed as the blow caused Link to crash to the ground and in that heart stopping second it was clear that Dark Link was going to go for a finishing blow. I was on my feet before I even consciously decided to stand.

My scream turned from terror to rage and without thinking I threw myself at Dark Link; my sword slipping from my grip. Whether he had been too wrapped up in trying to kill Link to notice me, or simply deemed me not a viable threat I couldn't say for sure. Thankfully though, that meant it clearly wasn't expecting my interference so it didn't have time to try and dodge or block my tackle. I wrapped one hand around its sword hand and tucked the other tightly into my side, and with all of the force I could muster I lunged into its chest. I barely even registered the pain of contact, as we were both sent flying off the platform.

The landing was harsh, even with the creature's body beneath me lessening the impact, but I had no time to dwell on it. My heart in my ears and stomach in my lungs I scramble to get purchase on top of it as I tried to force it to let go of the sword by slamming the wrist I held against the ground. When that failed to produce results, I vaulted higher onto its body, straddling its chest and used both of my hands to try and rip open its iron like grip and take the sword from its hand.

It very suddenly snapped its free hand up and grabbed a fist full of my curls and yanking down and away from the hand I was wrestling. I screeched in equal amounts of pain and anger before shoving my elbow as hard as I could into the area of its face where a nose would be. There was an audible crack and I prayed that whatever this thing was that it could still have a broken nose. It let out a type of hiss I have only ever heard from incredibly aggressive owls and used its grip on my hair and the awkward position it had pulled me in to flip me off of its chest and onto the solid stone next to it.

My head hit the ground with a loud crack that sent my entire world spinning. Miraculously, I managed to keep my grip on its hand so instead of immediately running me through with its sword when it flipped us it was forced to pin me down with its shield, its sword pointing harmlessly off to the side. Realizing I wasn't about to let it stab me the creature hiss again and suddenly put all of its weight onto the shield punching the breath out of my lungs.

At this point my vision was blurry and spinning enough that I could no longer make out anything but the glowing red orbs of Dark Link's eye directly above me. There was a moment where I was certain I was going to die this way, and then the creature let out a shriek of pain. The shadow form was no longer able to hold together and it exploded layering me in a cloud of pitch-black smoke.

The magical and incredibly welcome tone of the puzzle complete melody rang out around us and as the smoke disappeared I could make out the shape of Link standing above me, sword posed in such a way that it was clear he had run it through Dark Link's torso.

I didn't move from my place on the ground, and for a while Link and I just stared at each other. Eventually he sheathed his sword and knelt down on the ground next to me.

"You okay?" He eventually asked, voice soft and full of some kind of emotion that I was far to out of it to begin to surmise.

"I'll live. You?" I respond trying to move as little as possible until the room stopped spinning.

"I'll live too." He winced clutching his side.

"We should head back to Lon Lon Ranch once we get out of here. I think we might need some real patching up and someone there has got to know how to." I offer my opinion exhausted though I've only been awake for maybe an hour at this point.

Link didn't verbally respond and I had at some point closed my eyes, so I wasn't sure if he had agreed with me or not. He did however shift his stance and I felt his hands reach under my back as he lifted me into a sitting position. I cracked an eye open to look at him but he was already beginning to stand. He bent over in front of me and without a word wrapped his arms around me incredibly tender torso and pulled me up so I was standing.

I groaned in protest but didn't fight him on it. We made our way back up onto the platform where, standing in the middle, there was another statue of a Goddess holding the Pendant of Power. We paused on our way up to grab my discarded sword, but soon enough we had the pendant in hand and Link was leading me over to another shining portal.

I felt the increasingly familiar feeling of weightlessness before suddenly we were on to of Mount Hylia again. The pedestal was back and from what I could see, the hole we fell down was completely gone. While normally this would have fascinated me I couldn't be bothered to spend even a moment to think about it due to the pounding in my skull.

It seemed Link was on the same page because he already had the Sheikah Slate out and after pausing for a moment for me to grab onto it, he selected our destination and once again we were teleported away.

A couple hours and a furiously concerned Ramona later, we were sitting inside the main tent of the ranch eating some hearty soup. Ramona and Parcy had joined us, after Ramona bandaged us up and gave us some Hearty Radish Potions, otherwise known as Red Potions, of course. Parcy was regaling us with stories of her treasure hunts closer to Castle Town and things were nice. Content in a way I had never really felt before. It was strange but in some small way, the four of us sitting at the table together eating lunch felt right. I couldn't help but wonder if this was how people felt sitting down for a meal with their family. I suddenly felt kind of stupid and embarrassed for getting so mushy about people I've only known for a short period of time. I busied myself by shoveling more soup into my mouth in hopes that no one would catch on to the pinkness of my cheeks.

"Oh yeah, Lazarie!" Ramona suddenly interrupted the conversation to catch my attention. She succeeded as all three of us swiveled our heads to look at her. "While you're down here you should spend some time with Epona. She's been getting pretty fussy in the couple days since you've been gone." She finished brightly and again I couldn't help but be a bit envious of how at ease she felt despite the attention on her. The sheer confidence she always carried about her was honestly amazing and I couldn't help but be incredibly jealous of it; and also her shiny hair, and soft skin. Long story short there were a lot of things to envy about Ramona and I am getting side tracked again.

"Epona?" Link piped up from beside me, looking from Ramona to me in question.

"Lazarie's horse. Epona! She's the first person who Epona actually liked so she really is the reasonable person to own her. She also named her so that really means she belong to her. She also keeps biting the stable hands so no one is really willing to try and fight that claim. The horse I mean. Not Lazarie. Lazarie does not keep biting the stable hands." Ramona rapid-fired the answer before anyone could get a word in edgewise.

I felt a warm butterfly-esque feeling in my stomach at the word's Lazarie's Horse; unbelieving that I got to keep something so important. I chanced a glance towards Link who was smiling and nodding in understanding. I couldn't stop the thought popping into my head about what might happen if Link meets Epona.

Would she like him more than me? If he doesn't want me to travel with him for the rest of this adventure is her gonna take her with him? How do I stop that from happening? Keep them separate? Cry until Link feels to bad o take her from me?

"Lazarie?" Link's voice cuts through my panicked spiral of unreasonable thoughts.

"Oh! Sorry, Yes. Yes I'll definitely spend time with Epona before we head back up." I answer trying to reassure the concerned occupants of the table, the flush from earlier returning with a vengeance.

"We an saddle up a horse for you as well Link. That way you can also go for a ride if you want too." Ramona began again and went on to dominate the conversation as her fast talking speed makes her inclined to do.

I found that I could quite keep my mind on the conversation though, my focus to quickly stolen by the feeling of Ramona boot slide to tap onto mine and stay there in a silent show of reassurance. But, my amazement was meant to end there, as quickly on the same foot another boot bumped up against mine, coming clearly from Parcy's direction. Then surely enough, a third boot came to rest pressed firmly along side of my other shoe, our legs pressed firmly together to the knee, obviously belonging to Link.

For a second I felt like I couldn't breath. My heart was pounding so loudly in my chest that I was certain everyone at the table must be able to hear it. I struggled to keep my composure and not just immediately burst into tears, as I was inclined to do. No one at the table drew any attention to me, and for that I was grateful. Here I was sitting and eating lunch with three people I've only known for a very short period of time, and they were all wordlessly offering me support; not even knowing what was wrong with me, or potentially even know the others were doing the same.

I ate and listened to my friends chat, and for the first time in a very long time I let myself bask in the feeling of not being alone.

True to her word, Ramona saddled up a large brown horse for Link as I slowly tried to copy her movements. She still ended up coming over and helping me finish, also fixing the mistakes I had made but let's not talk about that. Link was a natural at horse riding, or more probably had enough muscle memory alone to make sure his skill level was much higher than mine, and was in no time racing around the corral with ease. I stuck to the easy trot pace that Epona defaulted to and just tried to keep my riding posture in check and hope this didn't add to the soreness I was undoubtedly going to have to deal with later.

Once Link had given his borrowed horse a good workout he eventually dismounted and came over to me to walk beside Epona and I. Epona instinctively slowed so a lazy walk and Link was able to keep pace with us no problem. She also seemed to already like him the traitor, as she would sometimes nudge his shoulder in demands for pets.

Seeing as this was the first time since the Trial of Power that I had really a moment to go over what had happened, I couldn't help the feeling of dread and guilt that eclipsed me.

"Link," I hesitantly began, "I'm sorry. I was pretty useless back there on the mountain. I really only succeeded in making your job harder. And, I think I'm not supposed to even be there. I would understand if you wanted to do the rest without me." I word vomited before I could chicken out of telling him. Despite the fear and the fact that I would be pretty heart broken to not continue this adventure with Link, I had to face the facts. Today had shown that I wasn't built for this, and one day I could really put Link into danger. I had to make sure he knew he had a choice.

"What? Of course I want you to keep coming with me! I- Why do you think you shouldn't be there?" he seemed genuinely confused and surprised that I would be thinking this way.

"Well, I mean it's pretty obvious that they only had you in mind, like that whole test was against only your shadow, not our shadows. And-like- I just stood there scared and screaming for most of it. I don't have any real training with this sword so I can't help you fight and-" I try to explain, really explain. I needed him to understand that being around me was not likely to end well for him.

"Lazarie." Link interrupted me, "We're in this together. I don't think I can do this without you. I don't want to do this without you. I can train you. Show you how to use a sword. We can do this together." His tone was pleading, worried in a way that shattered me to my core. In that moment, I didn't see the Hero sent to save Hyrule. I just saw a boy, scared and alone, and that loneliness mirrored my own so thoroughly that I had no choice but to let my anxiety go.

It didn't matter how woefully unprepared I was for an adventure. All that mattered was making sure that Link didn't have to feel alone ever again. It seemed fitting, considering how The Legend of Zelda was the one thing in my childhood that made me feel less lonely. A friend I could keep with me no matter how many times I moved. Maybe it was time I returned the favor.

"Together. Okay. I can't promise I'll be of much use but I will be here for as long as you'll have me." I offer up an unsure smile.

The smile that Link gives me in return is worth every minute I'm going to lose sleep over worrying about getting him killed.

_Notes:_

_Here we are the end of another chapter! And we have a few more favorites and subscribers too! I really appreciate each and everyone of you guys who are reading this. I hope you are all safe and doing okay with all of this Corona Virus stuff that's going on. I hope that I can offer even a tiny reprieve from the nightmare of reality._

_Thanks._


	9. She is Your

A Hyrule Historian

Chapter IX

She is Your…

I couldn't believe my eyes.

After our lunch and brief rest at the ranch, Link and I had promptly warped back up to the plateau to continue our search for the third and final trial, The Trial of Wisdom. With the placement of the other two trials it was pretty clear that the final one was going to be on the eastern side of the plateau so we head straight there first. The lack of bokoblins was almost expected, seeing as how we had yet to see any form of monsters on the plateau outside of the trial areas. What was there, however, was quite a bit more interesting.

Instead of the dirt valley with only a Sheikah Tower and bokoblin camp to draw any interest, there was a much larger portion of remnants of Castle Town. In the game there had only been the remains of the castle square with is fountain in front of the Temple of Time, which to be fair, was about all there was to Castle Town in Ocarina of Time. So seeing all of the age worn buildings, reduced to nothing more than rubble really, gave a further picture of just how much life had once been here. This had clearly been well populated and I couldn't help wonder what had actually destroyed it. Why was this area magically torn away from the rest of Hyrule? Was this before or after a new Hyrule Castle and its accompanying town were built, or was that a result of this?

The ruined city gave way to the lone path that undoubtedly used to lead to Hyrule Castle. The mostly intact, ornate archway was so much larger than its Ocarina of Time counterpart but it still made a definitive entry to the castle grounds. The only difference was now, however many thousands of years in the future, instead of a sliding metal gate there was the sudden and incredibly dense tree line of the forest.

As we slowly made out way through the ruins I noticed Link had become quieter; his earlier excitement having cooled to something almost somber. Or, he was just being quiet because he was a quiet person and I was overthinking things. Hard to tell, really.

Link paused in front of a building, too little of it remained to tell whether it used to be a house or a shop. He thoughtfully made his way inside and I cautiously followed. "Link? Is everything alright?" I hardly stirred the air around us with how quietly I spoke.

"Yes. No? For some reason this makes me incredibly sad. I don't know why though." He eventually answers, clearly forcing himself to speak.

I nod but remain silent. Whatever he was going through, I didn't want to interrupt. I stood by the door, willing myself to be still despite my anxiety urging me to move or speak to feel less awkward. I imagined becoming a statue; a sentinel standing watch over this long dead place.

Link slowly paced around the building. I lost sight of him a couple times, just for a second, as he passed behind a larger piece of wall, but he always appeared on the other side. It seemed like he was looking for something, though I had no idea what, and the lack of it was making him more and more visibly agitated. He repeatedly ran his hand through his hair, pushing his bangs back and off his face or adjusting his ponytail just a little higher or a little tighter. Eventually the cord he was using to tie it back snaps and his nearly shoulder length hair falls freely around his face. The surprise of the motion snaps him out of whatever daze he had fallen into and he looks to me eyes wide before quickly looking to the ground in embarrassment.

I root around the bottom of my star purse until I manage to unearth my prize. I do an awkward hop-skip-jog over to him before holding out the small elastic so he can see it. This seems to startle him a bit and he looks back up to meet my gaze. His hair has settled with a solid middle part, all of the messing with it having shifted it from the replica of his Breath of the Wild style.

Hah. Wild Style.

Of course, he still looked absolutely beautiful, the middle part framing his face in an entirely different way than the side swept bangs did; different but just as cute. I shake of the small pang of jealousy because I could never look that cute with a middle part. Unfortunately as the jealousy subsides all I am left with is the keen awareness of how cute Link is, which makes me far more nervous than before.

"To tie back you hair." I offer him the elastic again while looking at his eyebrows and not his eyes to feel a little less embarrassed. He carefully takes it from my hands and pulls his hair back into his ponytail. He runs his hands forward to his bangs before he pauses, tugging on the still parted down the center strands. He brushes the ends of his bangs over where they land on his cheekbones, clearly wanting to ask something but hesitating.

"Could you- If you wouldn't mind-" He tries to start a couple times before taking a deep breath and squaring up to ask me, "Could you fix my bangs? I know they look stupid like this but I can never seem to part them right." He explains in a small rush that really puts into perspective that asking for help, even in this small way has made him nervous.

"Of course I ca- What do you mean 'look stupid'? You're so fucking cute you can clearly have any hairstyle you want and it would look amazing." I start to agree gently when the full weight of his words hits me. I end up saying things in more outraged disbelief than I meant to in what had previously been a very tender moment.

Link just stares at me with wide eyes.

My brain catches up to my mouth.

"I mean, whatever. Yes? Um. Yeah. I can fix it for you, if you want." I quickly stumble over my words trying to push past the fact that I just announced that I thought he was cute. Get it together Lazarie, you are 19 goddamn years old, you don't need to be flustered about telling a very cute boy that he is cute. Stupid. This is-

My internal tirade is interrupted by Link's beaming face; an expression too fond to truly be called smug, but clearly proud of being called cute.

"Shut up." I command as I point at his dumb smug face.

"I didn't-" He holds his hands up in surrender but is still smiling far too widely.

"You shut you face." I double down.

"I'm not saying anything." He only just prevents himself from actually laughing.

"You! Fix your own bangs! I'm leaving." I screamed dramatically and stomped off out of the not-quite building and headed towards the gateway leading to the forest. I could hear Link jog to follow me as he finally busts out in giggles.

I walked faster.

The forest is quiet and still as we make our way through. I was still just so incredibly awestruck with how gigantic the trees in this forest are. The only forest I have ever seen in person that rivaled this is the redwoods in California and even then they grow huge, straight, and tall. These trees twisted and interlocked to the point it looked almost like a never-ending cage. The trees also seemed almost alive, or at least like they were watching us with a thousand hidden eyes.

I, unfortunately, had to stop trying to run away from Link once we entered the tree line. No telling what could happen if I got separated from him in this endless sea of leaves. Maybe I'd become the first Stalfos in these woods? Regardless, it was the wiser decision to eat my embarrassment and stick close to Link. Of course, that's a lot easier said than done, especially when I couldn't help but notice Link still hadn't fixed his bangs back to being side swept.

I leveled a glare at him as he reached down to help me over a fallen tree that was half as tall I was, "If it's bothering you I can fix it." I offer suspiciously, wary of him potentially making fun of me.

"Hm?" He seems surprised for a second before realizing I was talking about his hair, "Oh, no. If it doesn't look bad…it feels better this way. It doesn't get into my eyes. It doesn't look weird right?" he explained while looking a bit sheepish.

"No it doesn't look weird. It's nice, kinda reminds me of-" I flinch when I realize what I was about to say; because it reminded me of Ocarina of Time Link, the only Link with a middle part, and my favorite iteration of him. Suddenly, I was unsure of how Link would feel being compared to a past iteration of him. I was all too aware of Link's eyes on me but I was frozen in uncertainty. Would he be hurt? Would he think that I don't think of him as his own person? Or that I was trying to make him more like the version of Link I was most attached to?

"Reminds you of what?" Link asked gently pulling me out of my spiral.

"Nothing. I-I just think I looks nice." I wince at how horribly strained the sentence comes out as.

Link pursed his lips together and puffed out his cheeks in a painfully cute pout, "You said you wouldn't lie."

His words drove a spike straight through my heart.

"Okay, yeah. Sorry, it's stupid. I was gonna say that it reminds me of the hero that was in my favorite story, the one with The Temple of Time. But, then I got scared because I thought you might get upset because I was comparing you to him, but I'm not! You're your own Link and it doesn't matter how much childhood loneliness Ocarina of Time helped me get through, that was just a story, and he's just a character, and- and- You're not. You're a real person, with thoughts and feelings of your own, and I don't want you to think that I think of you as just another character. Just another hero of the story." My explanation came out rapid and stuttering, my words stumbling over another to leap into the air first. I was nearly to tears with anxiety by the time I finished.

"You worry about a lot, don't you?" was Link's gentle reply.

I looked at him through misty eyes before giving a laugh, "Yeah. I do."

"Well, you don't have to worry. As long as you don't lie, I can trust you, and that means you can trust me. Because we're friends." His logic was sound, if not a tad bit childish, but that made it all the more charming.

"I'm probably gonna worry anyway, but that's like, just kind of who I am." I tried to joke to lighten the air, but it rang with more truth than I'd like.

"Well, that's okay. I'll be here to reassure you." Link said decisively.

"Thanks. Whoa." I am suddenly struck silent at the sight in front of us. Ahead of us was a large moat, we probably would have fallen the steep ten or so feet had we not been extremely careful because of the deceptive overgrowth of the flora around us. On the opposite side of the moat were large chunks of a completely decimated castle wall. Ocarina of Time's Hyrule Castle was present and accounted for, it seemed.

The castle was something out of an archaeologist's dream, a barely standing relic of centuries gone by. The forest had well and truly taken over the carcass of the castle, weaving through the cracks in the walls until it was as much a part of the building as the impressive stonework. The forest was too dense to see how much of the castle still remained intact, but that only added to my excitement. Would this be like the ruins of Castle Town, aged and weathered beyond recognition, or like the Temple of Time, a near pristine monument of the past? Either way, it only furthered my certainty that this was the location of The Trial of Wisdom. I was so excited to see what was on the other side of those walls that I was practically vibrating in place.

The wooden drawbridge that would have acted as door and entrance to the castle was nowhere to be seen, undoubtedly having rotted away in the unnumbered centuries since its last use. What was left was a crumbling maw, gaping wide and impossibly dark in greeting to anyone brave enough to enter.

I've never once considered myself brave, but in the face of an incomparable cache of history like what was in front of us, I was certainly excited enough to drown out the anxiety. Besides, Link has enough courage for the both of us. I was just gonna ride this rush of adrenaline for all it was worth.

There were enough roots and lopsided trees broken into the murky water of the moat that we could get across with minimal submersion. We paused as we reached the other side to light our torches, we had made sure to ask for some after The Trial of Courage, and I also took a moment to put on my reading glasses, much to Link's visible surprise.

"You have glasses!" Link pointed out, "Why weren't you wearing them before?"

"They're just readers, I don't need them normally. I don't want to miss any small details because of poor lighting." I explained passively, having already turned my attention to the visible portions of wall on the inside of the gate. The roots and branches of the forest fused so completely into the stone that it almost looked like this had always been a feature of the structure, which made it so much more apparent how old these ruins were. They had to be thousands of years old, but for the castle to be so intact while having this forest overtake it was so mindboggling. I wondered if this was a side effect, or perhaps a purposeful design of the innate magic this world contained. What this could mean from an Archaeological standpoint was unfathomable.

If the face of a dream this large, I was left quaking with the awareness that my two years of college as a history major did not actually prepare me for studying any of this world. I wasn't even studying to be an Archaeologist; I can't perform any meaningful excavation. I wonder if the Gerudo Archaeologist from Breath of the Wild made it into this universe? Maybe I can convince her to teach me? Not the problem right now. Focus.

I pull myself away from the wall and try to brush of the thoughts of how: whatever Link and I were going to do here, it was definitely going to destroy centuries old architecture. What could we do? We gotta save the kingdom, after all.

We made our way through the entry hallway, making sure to avoid any roots or collapsed walls carefully. It opened up into what was once a grand foyer. The ceiling in here had collapsed for the most part, giving us a clear view all the way up into the tower above. Tree canopies broke through the structure and cast waving shadows down upon us. We had to climb up monumental slabs of crumbled stone, using broken off corners and smaller tree roots as purchase. We naturally headed straight towards the incredibly large, ornate, stone doors directly across from the entry and up the ornate staircase. The doors were massive, somewhere around 20 feet tall or more, and in near perfect condition. Unfortunately, these were shut tight and, from the pulsing blue light glowing across the surface, magically locked.

"Well, I guess we have our first objective." I mused quietly turning to gaze around the ruined foyer.

Link nodded in agreement. Despite the room easily being large enough to fit all 12 of my childhood homes combined, there seemed to only be three doorways; the one we came in from, the locked ones behind us, and one off on the eastern wall. There may have once been one on the western wall as well, but the castle had crumbled long ago and all that was left was a landslide of stone, dirt, and roots.

"We're pretty high above that door. I bet I could glide us all the way over there." Link mused aloud. He turns his gaze back to me with a spark of mischief.

"If you want to do that I won't stop you, but you'll have to wait for me to walk over there anyway." I shrug not wanting to ruin his fun.

"No. I said we could. You could hold onto me, and I can hold onto the Paraglider. Like we did for the Trial of Power, but not by surprise this time. It's a lot more fun when it's planned." He explained excitedly, which was endearing.

"I would love to do that. However," I paused for emphasis, "We need to keep these torches lit to see anything in here, and that would definitely blow them out." I reasoned with him gently, bummed to be the buzz kill. Link deflated in response and I could feel my desire to be responsible slip. "But, after we get done here, we can find a large hill or something and do it that way?" I offer.

He perked right back up at that. We made our way over to the other door, climbing and jumping with a bit more gusto than before. The doorway led us to a small hallway and then to a large courtyard. It was technically an open-air courtyard, and would have been in the past as well, but with the dense canopy of the forest in place it felt like it was still enclosed. And, if you combined that with the diminishing sunlight, it made for a dark and heavy atmosphere.

The courtyard itself was pretty unremarkable. Barely there stone benches lined the outer walls, covered in ivy and broken by tree roots. The forest had long invaded this area choking the once open space. There was one large tree on the far side of the courtyard that I was fairly certain would have originally been a part of the intended landscape. It was gigantic, but in a completely different way than the rest. It was clearly a different type of tree; the soft purple leaves of the canopy made me think it was a wisteria tree. Though, I could be wrong. It's not like I had ever seen a wisteria in real life. It was clearly ancient and had grown well past the boundaries that it would have been kept to for viewing.

I could just imagine the Knights of Hyrule lounging under the tree as the watched and waited for their turn to spar or something. A brief flash and a click to might right startled me as Link took a picture of the tree with the Sheikah Slate. Part of me wanted to laugh at how very 'Kids these days not enjoy things without taking pictures' this was. It was comforting that even in this distant universe people are still just people.

A brief look around the courtyard turned up nothing of importance. We found a still intact doorway at the far corner of the south wall so we quickly continued on further into the castle.

The next room took my breath away. It was a small library, which probably functioned as the castles solar. As the rest of the castle before it, the elements and time had destroyed most of it, but there were still some standing shelves. I quickly ran over to one such shelf, climbing and leaping over debris as I went. The few in tact books were ancient in a way that scholars from earth wouldn't think possible. The words on the spine were in an ancient version of Hylian that I was unable to read, but it was clear to me that these were possibly tens of thousands of years old, still held together by magic and centuries of being undisturbed.

"You really like this kind of thing, huh?" Link whispered from beside me.

"Yeah. It's the kind of thing I was studying back home." I whisper back.

"We should come back in the daylight then. When we have time to actually read them." He smiles at me.

"Yeah. I'd like that."

The next door was on the eastern wall so we continued onwards. It lead into a small hallway, the walls lined with faded portraits of either the royal family throughout the ages, or other such nobles. The portraits were just the slightest bit eerie, being as faded as they were it was difficult to make out features other than dozens of eyes looking directly at you.

We quickly made our way down the corridor and turned left at the bend coming to another door. Once again we were led out into the open air, this time it was a small overgrown grassy area with a walled in pond of some sort. There was a door directly in front of us but I was more curious about the long corridor to our left that led inwards to the center of the castle and contained many different types of trees and flowers. It must have been a garden of some sort, then.

Wait.

I looked back to the murky pond and its destroyed wall, the slightest rectangle of a drain still visible at the outmost wall. Then back to the entrance to the garden area, where overgrown hedges and the forest hid much of the path from view.

"Oh my god. I know where we are." I realize aloud.

"The Castle?" Link asks confused that I was just catching that now.

"No! No, I mean yes. We are in the castle. But, what I meant was that I've seen this before. I know where we are in the castle! Come on! I need to see something!" I babble excitedly and rush into the labyrinthine garden.

Link is quick to follow behind me and I am grateful, because I couldn't stop or slowdown at this point if I wanted to. My excited heart drove my feet and I was helpless to do anything but follow.

We had to pass many destroy walls and cross over more invasive trees. We came across a large marble sculpture of a knight, the accompanying figures long since covered in greenery. But, we pressed forward without stopping. Crawling through the small gap in the hedges and trees we came face to face with another giant marble statue, this time of a genderless person in draped fabric. The hedges were much denser here to the point they were practically one large super hedge. We had to carefully make our way over top of them.

We got past the hedges and made our way through another archway into Zelda's Garden. Much like the rest of the castle, it was in severe disrepair, but even through all the damage I would recognize it anywhere. Flowers completely covered the center islands and the moat was murky and moss covered, but the open-air courtyard had the first break in the canopy of the forest and we could see countless stars above. The stairs leading up to the platform with the window had seen much better days but I couldn't stop the flutter of my heartbeat at the sight.

It looked so much like I had always dreamed it would. Though it clearly couldn't rival what it must have looked like in its prime, I could still picture young Link running past the guard and catching Princess Zelda spying on Ganondorf and her father.

I made my way up the steps to the tall skinny gap in the towering wall of the castle. The window was too narrow for my head but I could vaguely see the darkened throne room on the other side. It was too dark inside to really be able to make out any details of the interior, to my dismay, but even that fact couldn't weigh down my elated heart.

I was standing where Link and Zelda first met in Ocarina of Time. I was at another place of my childhood fantasies. All because Link wanted me on his adventure with him.

I was overcome with the same joy and gratitude that had so overwhelmed me at the Temple of Time. I turned around to look at Link to try and thank him again, but the words died in my throat as I caught sight of him.

Link was standing frozen and tense in the middle of the island; his eyes screwed shut as if he was in terrible pain. His hands were clenched tightly against his upper arms like he was hugging himself, or in terrible pain. I hesitantly called his name and when he didn't answer, I ran the short distance over to him.

"Link? Link, what's wrong? Can you hear me?" I asked getting increasingly frantic as he continued to not answer. My hands hovered in the air between us, caught between wanting to grab onto him to try and pull him out of this and not wanting to hurt him further.

Link gasped and opened his watery eyes, looking directly into mine, "I've been here before. I know this place." He cried and fell to his knees amongst the flowers.

Hands still hovering utterly uselessly in the air, I sank down next to him and waited for him to speak.

"I was little, and the memory is still fuzzy, but I remember I met a little girl here. Someone incredibly important, but I cant remember why. I can't remember why I was here or who she was, but I remember her face. And, I know that I was never going to see her again. I was never going to see anyone I loved again." Link struggled to speak and my heart broke because of how devastated he sounded.

I gently took his hands into mine, but stayed quiet. What could I say? I didn't know anything about this Link's life or why he would remember being here as a child. I couldn't even begin to think of any words that would ease the intense pain he must be going through. My parents always used to say that it was going to be okay to me when I was broken up about something, but that always felt dismissive and fake to me.

With no words of comfort seeming good enough, I was left to just hold his hands and hope that being here was some kind of comfort. When Link eventually tightened his grip, I felt he understood. And, when he bent over, his chest pressed to his knees, and pressed the back of my hands to his eyes as he quietly cried, I put up no resistance. I simply held his and leaned over to press my forehead against his back.

I didn't have any words to help chase his pain away, but I could make sure he didn't have to bare it alone.

I'm not sure how long we stayed like that. In the dark of the night it could have been minutes or hours. Once Link finally relaxed his grip on my hands I sat up fully, and he did the same.

If it had been me to break down like that I'm positive that I would have been far to embarrassed to make any kind of eye contact, but that's just how being vulnerable in front of others goes. Link, thankfully, didn't have the same hang-ups as I did and when he sat back he just looked at me with gratitude.

"Let's go get those doors open." He smiled and as one we took off back the way we came.

We went through the door we had bypassed earlier in my desire to see the garden. On the other side were massive amounts of stone shelving, and the remnants of wooden shelves. Ancient bottles and boxes littered the room, so it was pretty easy to guess that this was a pantry or food storage of some kind. A long hallway was attached to the back of the room that led to the castle's kitchen.

The kitchen itself was in a terrible state, most of it complete destroyed. The walls had caved in around most of the space and we were only just able to squeeze through the doorway on the opposite side of the room.

Another hallway led us to the Castle Guard Barracks. A massive cave in on the far side of the room cut off dozens upon dozens of rows of beds. There was a small office right next to the door we entered which probably would have belonged to the Captain of the Guard, and seeing as it was the only remaining door left to us, we went inside.

The room was sparse, a desk and a bed making up most of the contents. On top of the desk there was an open book, the words in Ancient Hylian and faded to the point they were difficult to see in our torchlight. I held both of our torches as Link studied the words trying to read them and also translate them aloud for me.

"Okay. So, it seems like this is a journal entry by someone named Impa. Isn't that the lady in Kakariko?" He paused to look at me.

"This is pretty definitely her ancestor." I explained.

He nodded in understanding before flipping the pages back and forth, "There's only one entry. It's hard to read but it says something like:

'The new Hyrule Castle is complete. As necessary as it is for us to leave this castle and the town attached to it, I find myself procrastinating, trying to find any reason to stay here just a minute longer.

'I am grateful to be the last person to leave, having to set up the Trial of Wisdom and lock the door to the Throne Room where it will take place; so that one day, when the Hero awakens from his eternal slumber, he and Zelda will be able to save Hyrule from the doom that was prophesied.

'All I can do now is pray to the Goddess that we have done enough, and that the Shrines of Resurrection work as they are meant to.

'The Goddess watches over all her children but I pray she pays special attention to those two, who were so broken by fate.

'I shall leave the key in the heart of my Zelda. It is only fitting she protect the future." Link finished reading slowly, before looking at me.

The key is in the heart of her Zelda? What does that even mean? Is it maybe buried with the Zelda from that age? Maybe in Kakariko? But, why would it not be on the Great Plateau with everything else?

"I think we should go back to the hallways with the paintings, the one right outside of the library." Link pipes up decisively.

"Okay. Why tho-" I nodded, agreeing but confused.

What was so important about that hallway with the portraits? The portraits of probably the royal family. Oh. Oh!

"Link, you're a genius!" I exclaim and run off making my way through the castle excitedly. He laughed as he ran along side me.

It took us several minutes to get back there, having to cross the entire castle while not tripping over any debris, but we were in the dark hallway again soon enough. Taking stock of the portraits there were twenty of them, ten on each wall. As I had noted when we passed them before, the faces were faded and obscured that it was hard to tell the people in them, but by the forms and placements it was clear that the parents were on the top and the children sat in front of them. As we walked back and forth down the hallway examining the portraits further we came across two problems:

1\. The portraits were completely fused to the walls, through magic or some anomaly throughout the ages I wasn't sure.

2\. There was no telling which Zelda in these portraits was the Zelda that Impa was talking about.

After we came back together having found nothing we began to plot.

"Well, if they abandoned the castle with that generation, then her Zelda would be in the last portrait, right? So that narrows it down. But, which one of these portraits is the last one?" I looked around hoping there would be something like dates on the frames or something. Disappointingly, but not surprisingly there was no such clue.

"Well, it would be one of the ones on the end right?" Link offers.

"Makes sense, but there are technically four on the end, one on each wall at the end of both sides of the hallway. And how do we get to it? We can't take them down to look behind them or anything." I groused.

"We could set them on fire." Link was so casual with the suggestion that all I could do is stare at him in horror. "What's that face for?"

"Link… These are portraits of the Royal Family of Hyrule from who knows how long ago. These are priceless treasures. We can't- I can't-" I sputtered.

"Well we have to see behind them somehow."

"But- But, the history Link!"

"We have to find the key somehow."

"But fire!"

"Okay. The journal said that it was in the heart of Zelda. So, maybe if I just cut into where the heart is I'll be able to find it? That way I don't have to destroy the whole thing?" He offered in comprise.

"Okay." I muttered quietly enough that had the room not been entirely silent he probably wouldn't have heard me. He had a point after all, and knowing what I do about the dungeons and puzzles from the games; I would have to get used to the idea of damaging ancient things.

Link unsheathed his sword and one by one we went to the four paintings and he gently stabbed through the heart of each of the princesses. My heart lurched at every single one. So, of course the last of the four that we tried was the one that as soon as he pierced it, a click sounded through the hallway, and then we could hear the distant rumble of stone upon stone.

We wasted no time booking it to the entryway.

We entered the room just as the massive stone doors to the throne room finished sliding open. We scrambled, Link more gracefully than I, up the stairs and, as we reached the top, dozens of torches lit up simultaneously.

The throne room was unbelievably long, at least a football field and a half. The walls in this part of the castle were completely solid and made of the same smooth black stone as the other trial chambers. There was a line of red stone going all the way from the door to the throne on the far side of the room, perhaps to mimic the red carpet that would have done the same in the past.

There were large crystal switches on either side of the red center isle, ones the Zelda player in me immediately wanted to smack with a sword to get them to light up and turn on. There were 14 in total, seven on each side. Other than that, the only other thing of note was the throne and the area around it.

The throne itself was impressive; the seat complete with a Hyrule Blue cushion was at the top of a small set of stairs and at a reasonable height to be sat on comfortably. The back of the chair however towered above nearly double my height; the top being crowned with the symbol of the royal family, the Triforce and the loftwing underneath. Behind the throne were six marble statues, each was placed in a recess in the wall and each were of a person completely obscured by the meticulously carved, draping cloth. They were all exactly the same except for the detail on the round medallion they held in their hands. More specifically, the statues each held on of the Sage's Medallions from Ocarina of Time. A visual representation of the Six Sages behind the throne of Hyrule.

I unsheathed my sword and tapped it against the nearest crystal switch. It let out a quiet ringing note, but did nothing else. No glowing. No activating. Nothing.

I looked to Link for a clue.

"Maybe we have to hit it harder?" He shrugs and pulls out his own sword. Swinging it forcefully, he makes contact with the switch next to mine and it again lets out a clear ringing note, but does not activate. I can physically see his sword vibrating in his hands from the solid hit.

"Or not."

We spend the next several minutes running around and smacking the different crystals with our swords. Nothing happens and eventually we have to sit down to catch our breath. From my perch on the steps in front of the throne I glared at the unimpressed puzzle that lay before us.

"What are we missing?" I muttered wracking my brain for any kind of hint at what we were supposed to be doing.

I looked back at the statues behind us in case I had missed some kind of detail.

Six Statues and the throne make Seven Sages, two rows of seven crystals, and what else? What else is here?

As I was growing more frustrated Link stood up and went back over to the crystals to be productive again. I reluctantly stood up as well, but decided to get a closer look at the statues. As I rounded the throne I noticed something I had missed before. On the wall above the alcoves with the sages, there was a large golden musical staff, curved like a rainbow. It held no notes, but the left side had a treble clef and the right bold double bar line indicating the end of the composition.

My hand instinctively went to touch my purse, hovering over taking out the Ocarina of Time. Just as I was about to pull it out I heard Link ringing out notes from the crystals.

"Link! Hit that one again!" I call as I run over to the closest one to me.

He hit his again and from down the line I hit mine. They rang out as two completely different notes. I hit the next one down the line and it too made a different note.

"They're music notes!" I screamed excitement filling me with manic glee. With renewed purpose we made our way through all of the crystals again and charted all of the notes. To my surprise the crystals that were across the isle from each other were always the same exact note and they were arranged in a C Major scale ending before the high C note.

Adrenaline coursing through my veins I readied myself to run. Smacking my sword against the stones, I ran up and down the room so I could play the first six notes of Zelda's Lullaby. More than a little out of breath I hit the last one and whipped my head towards the thrones, waiting to hear the tune congratulating me on a puzzle well solved.

But nothing happened.

My heart sank. I was so certain.

"Maybe we need to hit them at the same time?" Link suggested.

Giving myself a moment to catch my breath, I nodded and we began again.

With a painful stitch in my side, we finished again and still nothing; not even a single switch lighting up.

In defeat I slugged my way back to the throne and threw myself down on it. Dramatically, in an effort to keep myself from actually shedding tears, I cried, "No! I was so certain! We're so close I can taste victory!"

In my endeavor to be humorous I shifted awkwardly on the cushion and got a bit too close to the edge of the throne. The cushion that I had assumed was tacked down as a part of the throne slid forward with me and I was sent sprawling to the floor, cushion and all.

Link ran forward to make sure I was alright but I couldn't even feel the smarting pain of my joints hitting the tough stone floor. I was too preoccupied by the sight of the cushion-less throne in front of me; or, more importantly, with the large handle attached to a chain that lay within the throne.

Link helped me up and together we inspected the new revelation.

It was a large straight bar with a chain as thick as my wrist attached to the middle. The chain was pulled taught and disappeared down a hole we were unable to see into. There were grooves in the stone so we would be able to get our fingers underneath to grip the bar.

Shrugging his shoulders Link reached down and pulled the bar out. He let out a small whoa before bracing himself so the bar didn't get ripped out of his hands from the resistance on the chain. He slowly walked backwards along the red tiles until he reached the first set of crystals. When they lit up on either side of him, he dropped the bar and a loud clang of failure sounded and the chain quickly rolled back until the bar was back in its place.

Link and I looked at each other excitedly before going back to the throne. This time we both grabbed one side of the bar and as a team pulled back and dragged the chain with us. It was tougher than I expected, considering Link was obviously pretty strong himself, and I was used to benching in the 200s. We slowly made our way backwards until we reached the first note of Zelda's Lullaby and once the crystals lit up, we dropped the bar.

The note rang out perfectly and on the staff on the wall, a glowing note appeared to mark its place. I may have screamed excitedly as we ran back to grab the bar again.

It was a slow process, and more than a bit draining. Pulling against the weight of the chain across the massive distance between notes was incredibly taxing and much worse than any work out I had ever done before. But, with shaking limbs and labored breaths we pulled the chain to the sixth note of Zelda's Lullaby and this time as it rang out around us, so to did our puzzle complete tune.

Before our eyes, directly in front of the throne, the final goddess statue appeared holding out the Pendant of Wisdom.

Despite the ache in my entire body I jumped and cheered, feeling a sense of accomplishment I hadn't at the two previous trials. Link laughed at my antics and I stuck my tongue out at him, good-naturedly. We slowly made our way back to the statue and claimed our prize.

We beamed at each other as Link held the three pendants together in victory.

A shining warp portal lit up about ten feet away from where we were standing so slowly to be as kind to our sore muscles as possible, we entered the light and let ourselves be taken away.

Unlike the two trials before, this portal didn't take us right outside the Trial area. It took us directly in front of the steps leading to the Temple of Time. Not gonna lie, part of me genuinely wanted to cry at the thought of trying to walk up all of those steps. But, the louder, Fangirl-ier part of me desperately wanted to finish this part of the adventure regardless.

It's just a more exhausting version of staying up too late to finish one more level.

Tired but excited smiles were exchanged before we trudged up the stairs. We had to stop many times along the way, whether to catch our breath or just yawn and fight the desire to sleep, but we made our way into the Temple of Time and up to the pedestal.

Link carefully placed each pendant in their perfectly shaped hole, almost like they were puzzle pieces.

I took out the Ocarina of Time, and through exhausted lungs, played the Song of Time. The Triforce above the Doors of Time lit up golden and the doors split in half as they slid open, the sound of grinding stone shattering the silence.

It was dark inside, our torches relit being the only light source again, but as we walked through the short hallway beyond the door a sudden beam of light guided us into the next room. In my bones I knew it was Hylia shining a light down to us, for it was far too similar to the light that would shine on the Goddess Statues in Breath of the Wild.

From the combined efforts of our torches and Hylia's light we were able to see the entirety of the inner sanctum. As with the rest of the temple it was far more ornate than its Ocarina counterpart. Stone murals covered the walls of the circular room in a story I would have loved to spend more time studying, but it wasn't the time for that.

I was struck frozen at the sight of the Pedestal of Time, the magical resting place of the Master Sword.

"That's not the Master Sword." I said in dumbstruck awe. Because, it wasn't. The sword sitting in the pedestal looked nothing like the Master Sword. It took me a second to get over my surprise but through the haze of panic I realized I did know this sword design though.

The black and silver sword, littered with red jewels, while not a perfect replica, was incredibly similar to the Magic Sword design from the box art of Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link.

"It's not? Is that bad?" Link asks not sounding worried, but curious.

"I-I don't know." I said trying to keep myself from spiraling into a panic attack. That's the problem with anxiety disorders, isn't it? This had caught me completely off guard and even though it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, panic ate me alive anyway.

Link reached out and grabbed my hand in concern.

I forced myself to take deep breaths, filling my lungs completely before emptying them. "I'm okay. I'm just shocked. I'll be okay. I think that's the Magic Sword, not the Master Sword. Which is a bit strange, because I had kinda believed that they were one and the same, just that the idea and design of it changed in the stories because of a better concept of the world. Maybe they are the same and it just looks like this instead of its later design?" I explained breathlessly.

Link nodded slowly, "So what should we do?"

"I think… You should try to pull it out, but! If it hurts you let go! I really don't want it to kill you, and I don't know if that part of the some of the stories would carry over."

Link did this cute little motion where he nodded his and clenched his fists in the air in affirmation, before he walked up to the sword. I quickly followed and stood on the opposite side to watch.

Bracing himself he placed both hands on the hilt of the sword and swiftly pulled it up and out of the pedestal. A rush of magic flooded past us as soon as the tip of the sword cleared the pedestal and an accompanying stone grinding on stone came from behind me.

Eyes wide and with a sense of dread I slowly turned to look at the wall behind me rising up to reveal a new doorway deeper into the Temple. The same smooth black stone from the trials on the other side.

I turned back to look at Link in disbelief meeting his equally wide-eyed gaze.

"Was that supposed to happen?" He asked quietly.

My mouth gaped like a fish for a moment, "I don't know."

"Should we go in?"

"Yeah?" I asked more than answered.

Slowly we made our way into the new tunnel. Link stood ready with his new sword in one hand and his torch grasped in the other. It wasn't long before we came across a door with the Sheikah emblem, the color and shape of the door identical to the look of the Sheikah technology in Breath of the Wild. As we get closer to it something mechanical shifts and it opens on its own.

The sound of a bathtub draining is immediately noticeable once the door is opened, which makes sense when the first thing we are able to see is an identical copy of the resurrection bed Link would have woken up in. We can't see who, or what dear god, is inside from our spot outside the door, so reluctantly we step into the room so we can peer into the bowl part of the bed.

My heart stops dead in my chest as I finally lay eyes on the unmistakable form of Princess Zelda.

"Holy shit."

_Notes:_

_Wow this turned into a long one! It didn't help that I was also moving out of my shitty apartment this week so writing it was an up hill battle. But we're finally here! We finished what I'm calling the Great Plateau arc and start to really get into the meat of this thing._

_As always reviews would be wonderful. They mean so much to me and really help motivate me to keep this up._

_It's about time for some real explanations don't you think?_

_Also, I wonder what Michiko and Ash have been up to?_

_As always,_

_Thanks._


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